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AND WHAT I SAW IN 

GREAT BRITAIN, 

France and Belgian^ 



BY WM. N. LAMBDIN. 



' Or co,\^7r>- 
MAR 24 U 



ALEXANDRIA, VA. ^ '' "^" 
Ramey's Printing Office and Book Bindery, 
i8S8. 



4 CONTENTS. 

Chapter IV. — Rambles in Hyde Park — Lovely girls — Alligators 
— Vastness of London — London at night — Pinching poverty — 
Enormous wealth — Appetite for drink among English women— 
Departm*e from London — St. Albans — Leicester — Sheffield — 
Normantown — Leeds— Settle — Horton — ''Long Meg and her 
Daughters" — The original Gretna Green — On Scottish soil — 
Edinburgh again — Roslm Chapel — Loch Lomond — Pictur- 
esque scenery — Ben Lomond — Trosachs — Leaving Glasgow — 
Belfast— Giants Causeway^Sail from Larne — "Stowaways" 
— A stirring incident — Very rough sea— Arrival in New York 
— Home io6 

Appendix. — Remarks — Enroute for Luray — Harper's Ferry — Beau- 
tiful scenery — Historic region — Luray Inn — Famous Mineral 
Springs^- Luray Cavern — Its wonderful formations described — 
Illuminated by electric light — From Luray to the Natural 
Bridge — Weyer's Cave — Description of the Natural Bridge 
— Pyrotechnic displays — Places of interest near the Bridge — 
Home again 143 



PREFACE. 



"Of making many books there is no end" is a 
truth more apparent now than ever before ; and the 
first thought of many tourists after their return from 
abroad is to plunge into print regardless of conse- 
quences. 

While there are multiplied copies of books of 
European travel, most of these have the objection- 
able feature of being too expensive ; and the writer's 
apology in sending forth this little volume, is the 
demand often felt for an inexpensive but faithful 
*'replica" of the new and strange experiences of the 
traveller while among his trans-atlantic friends. 



6 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

My highest wishes are attained if the reader can 
find these hasty notes of a too hasty journey worthy 
the trouble of a hasty reading, and in kindly indul- 
gence of this my first offense, extend his forgive- 
ness to 

The Author. 

Jaituary, 1888. 



''Agents wanted in all parts of the United States for the sale 
of this Book, to whom liberal rates will be allowed. 



"'Copies of this Book mailed to any part of the U. S. on re- 
ceipt of 25 cents. 

JI^^'For terms to Agents, or copies of this Book, address 

Wm. N. LAMBDIN, 
218 N. Patrick St. Alexandria, Va. 



Chap.ter I.— Thoughts of an ocean voyage--De]ightful sail on Lake 
Erie — A visit home — Washington, D. C. to New York — Sails 
from New York — Dense fog — Music hath charms — Vacant 
Chairs at the tables— Soup poured into her lap — Paying tribute 
to old '*Nep." — Nearly rolled out of berth — Two-thirds across 
the Atlantic — Whales, porpoises, gulls, etc. — Flirtation — Their 
honey moon aboard — Busy cooks— Shaving under difficulties- 
Something worse than purgatory — Smoking room on steamer- 
Tory Island — Arrival at Greenock—Great Eastern steamship 
— Arrival at Glasgow. 

It was a sultry day during the latter part of June, as I 
sat near the window in my room at the Hillman House, 
Wheeling, West Virginia. 

I longed for a breath of cool fresh air, but such a 
blessing as that was entirely out of the question in a 
manufacturing city with the thermometer dancing up in 
the nineties. 

It was then that I bethought me of the delights of a 
midsummer ocean voyage. 

Shortly after this 1 had occasion to visit the magnifi- 
cent city of Cleveland, Ohio, and after enjoying a drive 
along the entire length of Euclid avenue, the next thing 



« RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

in the programme was a sail on the cool waters of Lake 
Erie. Flow delightful ! O that I might pass days and 
nights away from the turmoil, heat, and dust of the busy 
haunts of men, and allow tired nature to find a §weet 
restorer in the life giving breeze and freedom from all 
care, that one would be sure to enjoy on the bosom of 
the deep while the proud iron steamship, as if eager to 
reach her destined port, would plough through the 
mighty waters many knots per hour. 

Such thoughts as these and more, revolved though my 
mind while on the Lake, and 1 then and there deter- 
mined that ere the mellow suns of autumn had tinged 
the forest trees, the pleasures of a trip across the Atlan- 
tic should have been tasted. 

With this object in view I hastened to visit the dear 
ones at home, in the quiet city of Alexandria, Va., 
where I had not been for more than six years. 

Travel is good, but a visit home once in a while is 
the sweetest thing known, and no man (unless he is sent 
to the penitentiary) should remain away from his people 
and kindred for six long years at one time ; however in 
an **old bach" (such as the writer has the misfortune to 
be), the case is somewhat pardonable, for often times 
this class of humanity are so crusty that their absence is 
more to be desired than their presence. 



RAMBLES IN EUkOPfi. 9 

But 1 am not writing an essay on bachelors and their 
dispositions, so must hurry on, still I would observe that 
there are exceptions to every rule (except death and 
tax paying) and this deponent hopeth he may be an ex- 
ception to' the crusty state of bachelors generally, but as 
to that/ of cotirse, the girls must decide. Only a week 
at home and then, ho ! for New York, from which port 
our good steamship — State of Nevada— sails July i4thj 
fof Glasgow. 

But before we get to Gotham, from Alexandria, let 
us notice w^hat fine cities v/e pass through on the way. 

First, there is Washington, a second Pans in beauty, 
and adorned with such noble public buildings as are 
scarcely to be found anywhere else upon earth. 

We notice especially the Washington Monument tow- 
ering 555 feet high, and the Capitol 306 feet, both built 
of marble and an honor to the nation. 

Our time being limited we cannot at present take in 
the Smithsonian Institution, Corcoran Art Gallery, 
National Museum, Army Medical Museum, Treasury, 
State, War, and Navy Departments, White House, and 
so many other places of interest in the ''City of Mag- 
nificent Distances. '^ 

Washington to be admired needs only to be seen. 
And no person who visits this city should fail to see Mt. 
Vernon, and Arlington Cemetery. 



10 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

One hour's ride on the linnited express from Washing- 
ton and we are in Baltimore^ Md. 

Here we have only time to notice the Washington 
Monument 175 feet high, from the summit of which a 
fine view of the city can be obtained. Druid Hill and 
Patterson Parks are delightful resting placesj but then 
there is no rest for the wicked, and besides, the train is 
leaving, and so we push on tov/ard Philadelphia, the 
second largest city in America. A volume could be 
written of this city, and it v/as the writer's happy privi- 
lege nearly twelve years ago to visit the great Centen- 
nial Exposition, and see the sights of the Quaker City ; 
visit the choice collection of animals at the Zoological 
Gardens in Fairmount Park, and tak@asail on the river. 

We pass on and arrive at Jersey City and take the 
ferry for New York just opposite. 

From Washington to New York the distance is 230 
miles and the express trains makes the run in six hours, 
mcluding all stoppages. 

We are now in New York — the largest city in Ameri- 
ca, and at the docks we may find vessels from every 
quarter of the globe. In population, this metropolitan 
and cosmopolitan human hive is exceeded only by Lon- 
don and Paris. 

Everything is on a large scale (especially the prices 



RAIMl'.LES IN EUROPE. 1 1 

at hotels) and New York does nothing by halves. 

Let us saunter out to Central Park and visit the ''Zoo" 
and have a little boat ride on the lake. 

This park has an area of 843 acres and abounds in 
beautiful drives and walks. 

Madison Square, Union Park, and Washington Square 
are also delightful promenades. Prospect Park and 
Greenwood Cemetery are lovely places. 

The Brooklyn Bridge over East river which cost ^15- 
000.000 is doubtless the most costly and handsome one 
in the world. 

The elevated railways do an immense passenger traf- 
fic, and are to New York what the underground railways 
are to London. 

The Empire City is replete with places of interest, 
and the visitor could take in with both pleasure and 
])rofit Old Trinity Church, Astor Library, Cooper 
Union, New General Post Office, Custom House and 
Stock Exchange, Plymouth Church, and Brooklyn Tab- 
ernacle, and many other places. Some might desire to 
visit the Morgue and the Tombs. 

The great Bible House of the American Bible Society 
on Astor Place, near Broadway, will richly repay an 
inspection. This Bible Society is the largest in Amer- 
ica, and publishes the Scriptures in 242 different langua- 



12 RAMBLES IN fiUkOPE* 

ges and dialects, and has the capacity to print and bind 
ten thousand Bibles and Testaments each day. 

There is much good and evil near together in New 
York, and a stranger ought to be on his guard against 
pick-pockets and sharpers of all kinds^ especially along 
the Bowery. 

Most tourists get their money exchanged at one of 
the many brokers offices on Wall street. I was no ex- 
ception to this rule and got £^ 20. 8 shillings for each 
hundred dollars exchanged. After storing my British 
and French gold coin in my money-belt, I started like a 
pilgrim with grip-sack in hand to the State Line pier, 
foot of Canal street. The vessel was pushing out from 
the wharf just as I arrived, and had I been one mmute 
later should have been left, and my first class saloon 
ticket not worth the paper it was printed on. 

I was booked for aft berth 19, steamship State of Ne- 
vada, sailing Thursday, July 14, 1887. 

The officers on the vessel saw me as I made my ap- 
pearance, and it was with no small pleasure I beheld the 
great steamer glide back to the pier again. I hasti- 
ly bid nay brother who accompanied me— good bye — 
jumped aboard and the next minute the 3,000 ton ship 
Was on her way to a foreign land. 

As the vessel slowly steamed down the bay, those on 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 13 

sliorc and the passengers on the steamer greeted one 
another with handkerchief waving until we were lost 
from each other's view. 

The Bartholdi Statue of Liberty is a thing of beauty 
and a joy forever, and was the center of observation as 
the Nevada passed by. 

At Sandy Hook our pilot left us, which seemed like 
sundering the last link th.at bound us to our native land. 

The steamer now put on full speed and the sea being 
perfectly smooth we made very fair progress. 

There were about 120 cabin passengers and 175 steer- 
agers. 

The cabin passengers were not long in forming ac- 
quaintances, many of v/hich will be remembered with 
pleasure for years to con)e» 

There is always some pleasant word to say, some lit- 
tle service to render to man or woman, and we get ac- 
quainted in live minutes. 

Why sliould people go tliroiigh the world keeping 
their distance from their fellow-creatures, and losing all 
the benefit or amusement of their society ? 

For the first few days the weather w^as delightful and 
many of the passengers were congratulating themselves 
on having escaped sea-sickness, and indeed the prospect 
seemed favorable for a plesant trip across. 



14 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

But alas ! for human expectations, on the morning of 
the fifth day out we were enveloped in a fog thick 
enough to chop with an axe, (so a sailor said)^ and the 
fog whistle blew almost continuously. The noise of a 
well developed and healthy fog horn is not of a very 
soothing and euphonious nature, and the cold heavy 
fog and the demoniacal blasts of the fog horn combined, 
had a tendancy to keep all passengers down in the sa- 
loon. 

The decks were clear of passengers, the fog was soak- 
ing wet, and I did not promenade much that evening. 

Before the **rainy fog'' a person could hardly walk the 
deck because of the number of reclining chairs strewn 
in the way, and the pretty girls seemed to vie with each 
other to see who could remain above the longest. 

But a few short hours sometimes makes a wondrous 
change, and it was a dismal sight to stand in the com- 
panion way and look out upon the wet masts and sails^ 
and now and then a sailor encased in his oil-cloth suit. 
After standing in the companion way several hours, I 
concluded it was getting monotonous to gaze at the fog 
all day, so went below to see how the ladies and gents 
were enjoying their enforced stay in the saloon. 

Music appeared to be the order of the day, and piano, 
organ^ violin, flute, banjo, and other instruments issued 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 15 

forth their melodious Strains in such sweet harmony that 
I was fairly intoxicated with its soothing influences. — 
Music hath charms ^o soothe the savage breast. Sing- 
ing was also indulged in, and a very happy company 
were the occupants of the cabin that day. Others amused 
themselves by playing games of chess, checkers, old 
maid, dominoes, cards, &c., and if any one failed to 
enjoy himself with music, singing, or playing games, 
he could select a book from the library and bury him- 
self in that to his heart's content. The motto of that 
company seemed to be — let all enjoy themselves to the 
utmost in their own way. 

1 considered the three hours while I stood in the com- 
panion way gazing upon the rainy, foggy ocean listening 
to the wild sound of the fog whistle, just so much time 
lost. 

However, I am very fond of experience, and it re- 
quires all sorts of experience to fill up a life time, and 
besicies, variety is the spice of life. 

If I had not stood in the cheerless companion way 
(without a companion), looking at the cheerless pros- 
pect outside, and listening to the cheerless music of that 
most cheerless steam fog horn ; how should I have en- 
joyed so hugely the exhilarating pastime of the saloon ? 
We must have contrast and for any one to fully enjoy the 



16 RAMBLES IN EUROPE* 

companionship of kindred spirits, he must first know 
what it is to be lonesome. That night we had a concert 
interspersed with recitations and essays, and the glory 
of the hour was so great, that the chairman in the ful- 
ness of his enthusiasm, proposed to wind up the enter- 
tainment with a dance, which proposition was soon put 
into effect, and it was near midnight before the passen- 
gers sought their respective berths. 

The next morning I arose late, but not too late to get 
my breakfast. My conscience sometimes troubles me 
when I miss a meal, but my stomach generally troubles 
me still more. 

On deck everything was yet wet and foggy, and the 
ocean was getting considerably rougher. At noon the 
ship rolled a great deal and I saw we were in for a bad 
day. 

Some of the passengers had no appetite for dinner 
and there were plenty of vacant chairs at the tables. 
The rack apparatus were adjusted to the tables, yet it 
was with difficulty that the dishes could be kept in 
their places. 

One lady near me had half a plate of soup poured in- 
to her lap by a sudden pitch of the vessel. 

We all dined very sparingly that noon and I noticed 
that the rougher the sea became, and the more the ves- 
sel rocked, the less the passengers wanted to eat. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 17 

It cost the State Line Co., but little to board the 
pairsengers that day, and I saw several ladies and gen- 
tlemen, who were suffering the qualms of internal com- 
motion, rush to the lee side of the ship and feed the lit- 
tle fishes on the very food they had eaten at dinner. 

Such kindness on the part of the passengers appeared 
to be contagious, and I counted a dozen persons at one 
time leaning over the railing, and now and then pay- 
ing tribute to old Neptune with such an anxious expres- 
sion on their faces. 

With every heave of the vessel their breasts seemed 
to heave with emotion, and m.any aboard the Nevada 
heaved in sympathy that day with the heaving of the 
ocean. 

And still the wild waves dashed higher. That after- 
noon several waves broke over the decks, and the Ne- 
vada shipped sea after sea, and it was dangerous out- 
side. One passenger was washed ten feet and dashed 
against the rail with such force as to sprain his arm badly. 

I was in the companion way when a heavy sea rolled 
over, and half a barrel flowed down the stairs, and came 
near taking me along with it. 

An old lady when she saw the water screamed, '^the 
ship is sinking I" and it was some time before the stew- 
ard could re-assure her that there was no immediate 



18 RAMBLES IN EUROPE, 

danger. Three-fourths of the passengers were dread-- 
fully sea-sick, and the saloon resembled a hospital more 
than any thing else. 

Some of the sea sick were in their berths^ and the 
bed-room stewards were kept busy attending to them. 

The old ship rolled and pitched and groaned, and 
the sea dashed with such mighty force against her iron 
sides that she shivered many times from stem to stern. 

Those who were not sea sick looked as if a few more 
hours of such weather would put them on the retired list. 

The bulls-eye windows were all closed and the air of 
the lower cabins and state rooms almost stifling. I was 
neither sick nor well, and stood in the companion-way 
(my favorite place in very rough weather) to get a breath 
of pure air occasionally. 

Half the charm of going to sea lies in the pure fresh 
air, and the healthiest atmosphere in the world comes 
from the broad Atlantic, but when the bow of the grand 
old Nevada was under the waves every few minutes, it 
was almost impossible to go out and fill my lungs with 
the pure ozone. At supper most all the chairs were 
vacant and mine was only occupied for appearance sake. 

Such a thing as an appetite I had not, yet I went 
through the ceremony enough to partake of a very light 
supper. I could not help observing the wonderful con- 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 19 

trast between the aspect of the saloon and the condi- 
dition of the passengers that night, and of the preced- 
ing night when everything and everybody were so gay. 
Thus it is all through life, one extreme follows another, 
and joy and sorrow travel only a few hours apart in 
this mundane sphere. 

Roll on thou dark and deep blue ocean, roll ! It 
was still rolling when I retired to my berth, and the 
deep blue sea well sustained its rollicking reputation 
as a roller by nearly rolling me out of my couch sev- 
eral times during the night. The foUovving morning 
I arose feeling very sore from the constant shaking, but 
still able to make for the table when the breakfast bell 
rang. Meeting a friend at the table, he inquired, 
^'How did you sleep last night ? " 

I replied in an offhand way, 

'*0, I slept like atop," but meant like a top thrown 
into the Falls of Niagara. 

**Slept like a top ! why I believe you could sleep on a 
runaway horse ! " 

Several others inquired if I had slept any through the 
night, and to all I replied that I slept like a top. 

I found upon inquiry that very few had slept any 
during the previous night, and it was sad yet ludicrous 
to see what long faces they wore. 



20 RAMBLES IN EUROPE, 

Some of the passengers began to think that life on 
the ocean wave was not so jolly after all, and one young 
lady asked the captain if they would ever have any more 
nice weather again. 

It was two days of wretchedly rough weather such as 
a sailor calls *'nasty" and the cold, raw fog which was 
first encountered off Cape Race still hung like a pall for 
hundreds of miles around and refused to be lifted. 

Toward evening the sea quieted a little, and the aw- 
ful mist would lift once in a while and then envelop 
everything as completely as before. 

The following morning the sea was behaving itself 
tolerably well, and had calmed down so as to give the 
vessel a graceful rolling motion, and a glimpse of the 
sun could now and then be seen through the fog. 

Everything now looked encouraging, and the passen- 
gers were once more themselves. 

The worst was over, and it was not long before the 
decks were again animated by those who were not too 
sick to indulge in moderate exercise. 

By noon we had passed through the fog which had 
been our unpleasant companion for more than half a 
thousand miles. We had now been out a week, and 
were two-thirds across the briny deep, having made a 
run of over two thousand miles during that period. 



RAMBLES IN EUrOPE. 21 

Several ministers were aboard and one of them pro- 
I)Osed holding an open-air thanksgiving service, which 
was very largely attended. 

The Sunday previous there had been two services 
held in the saloon. 

That at'ternoon we saw two steamers far in the dis- 
tance, and could only discern them by their long trail 
of smoke. 

Quoits, shovel-board, and other out door games were 
kept up all day. 

There were a number of very sociable persons on tlie 
Nevada, and if any one could not find plenty of agree- 
able companions for the time being, it was certainly 
his or her own fault. 

There are few things more pleasant than a good prom- 
enade on the long, cleared decks of an ocean steamer. 

For many hours each day in fair weather, this health- 
ful and apetizing recreation was enjoyed alike by old 
and young. Not only the decks, but the gangways and 
every accessible place was invaded, and several times 
I got ''clialked" in my rambles around the ship. 

On the Atlantic, even in mid-summer a person will 
find great need for j^lenty of warm clothing, gloves, 
overcoats, wraj)s of all kinds being in great demand, 
especially at night. 



22 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

Many of the ladies remain on deck in their rech'n- 
ing chairs till near midnight, and watch the scintillat- 
ing phosphorescent seas with keen pleasure. 

When the slender keel of the ship glides quickly over 
the mirrored waters upon the wings of the wind, it cuts 
for itself a sparkling way, and disturbs in their sleep the 
monsters of the deep, which whirl and dart quicker than 
a twelve knot ship ; sweeping and turning around their 
disturber, they suddenly clothe the dark surface ot the 
water in brilliancy, while the stars of the first magnitude 
shine with a feeble light, and the '*Milky Way'* of the 
heavens is almost totally eclipsed by that through 
which we are sailing. It is a scene of awful grandeur to 
watch the foaming, luminous waters as the vessel dashes 
on her way and leaves the sparkling trail in her wake. 
Once seen it cannot be forgotten. In going over we 
saw two whales, and they were both spouting, also saw 
several sharks, great shoals of porpoises, dozens of mother 
Carey's chickens, and thousands of gulls. 

In the bosom of the great deep there is as much life 
as upon the land. 

To see a barque in full sail is an attractive sight ; 
one evening the Nevada passed so near a vessel of this 
sort, that the officers saluted each other. Altogether we 
did not get in sight of more than half a dozen vessels 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 23 

while going across, and once, for an entire week, we 
saw not a sail. 

Some persons may think it rather monotonous and 
tiresome in crossing the Atlantic, while others will find 
plenty of variety and amusement, and enjoy the time as 
a season of pleasure and profit. As for myself I shall 
always remember with pleasure and the fondest recol- 
lections, the delightful sojourn on the face of the great 
deep. There was nothing in the trip tiresome to me, 
and rarely indeed, if ever, have I enjoyed in the same 
number of days so much unalloyed pleasure. To see the 
golden sun set is magnificent, and it has the appearance 
of a huge ball of fire slowly descending into the cooling 
waters. One lady said, '^poor sun, it will get drowned 
and can never shine again." 

I do not know how the sun looks in rising at sea for 
*'01d Sol" always got there first. 

But to see the silvery moon beam down upon the 
mighty deep is well worth beholding, and I noticed at 
the same time that many of the young couples were 
quite ^*moon struck." 

One night I made the rounds of the ship before retir- 
ing, and it was a sight for a photographer to picture, 
here and there little groups in quiet corners, so earnestly 
engaged in coquetry and flirtation, that it seemed a pity 
to disturb their bliss. 



24 RAMBLES IN EUROPE, 

The sight was so affecting ( I might say affectionate ) 
I returned to my state-room with heart beating 
wildly, and being so unaccustomed to such things, 
hours elapsed before sweet sleep came to my relief. 
There were several newly married couples spend- 
ing their honey-moon on board, and their sweet atten- 
tions toward each other was enough to encourage the 
petrified heart of an old bachelor to go and do like wise. 

In this litte book gentle reader it would be impossible 
to relate half what was seen, but wait until we chance to 
meet, and then I can tell you of many things which 
now I have not time to write. 

Day and night without cessation the noble steamer 
dashes through the dark waters. It 7;ii/s^ nomQ to land 
after awhile. While viewing the vast expanse of waters 
we have a faint idea of eternity. 

*'They that go down to the sea in ships, that do busi- 
ness m great waters; these see the works of the Lord, 
and His wonders in the deep." 

Each day at noon an Observation is taken, which is 
posted in a conspicuous place for the passengers to read. 

The passengers are kept posted as to the latitude and 
longitude of the vessel, and the number of niiles travel- 
led every 24 hours. Time is divided on ship-board 
generally into three watches* 



RAMBLES lx\ KUROPE. ZO 

A watch is that part of the officers <ind crew of a vessel 
who together Utend to working her for an allotted time. 

Tlie hour of the day is told by certain bells, which 
strike every half hour. It requires some time to get 
used to this arrangement, but once leanied it seenis very 
simple and convenient. Once on each trip the life-boats 
are lowered, and pumps set to work, this is done to ex- 
ercise the crew in this particular, and also to give con- 
fidence to the passengers. 

Everything on ship-board goes along like clock-work, 
and each man has a certain work to perform. 

The Nevada consumed 75 tons of coal per day and 
made an average of 300 miles each 24 hours, h is as- 
tonishing hov/ much coal some of the fastest ocean 
steamships will consum.e. Two thousand dollars per 
day ^pent for fuel is a sum exceeded by several of the 
swiftest transatlantic ships. The "Oregon" oftheCu- 
nard line (which was sunk some tiiPiC ago) burned 330 
tons of coal each day, and made an average of 480 
miles every 24 hours. The "City of Rome" consumes 
an average of 300 tons per da)', and during the same 
length of time travels 430 niiles. 

The position of the firemen on ocean steamers is no 
sinicurcj and those on the Ncv;ida worked as if their 
muscks were made of iron. 



96 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

Fact is, both officers, sailors, stewards, and all con- 
nected with the ship have enough to do. The bed-room 
and table stewards deserve all the cash the passengers 
give them by way of tips ; and besides it is policy very 
often to gain their friendship^ and give them half a 
crown once in a while. The stewards can help a man 
considerably to have an enjoyable trip. 

From early morning till late at night the poor cooks 
are busy at work, and doubtless they have more to do, 
and receive less thanks for it than any other class on the 
ship. If any of the passengers are in the habit of pray- 
ing, they should remember above all others the over- 
worked cooks» 

One of the difficult things to do on board a ship is to 
shave one's selsf. It requires patience, of which I always 
keep a full stock, and perseverance for the undertaking* 
Once, in lathering my face, the vessel gave a lunge and 
I rammed the brush in my eye, and saw almost as many 
twinkling stars in a moment as an astronomer could with 
a telescope in a week. But nothing daunted I contin- 
ued on, and soon my face was well soaped. The ves- 
sel gave another plunge, and to keep from falling I 
was forced to grab the door with both hands while the 
razor fell and struck the floor with its edge. After I 
had recovered enough to pick the razor up it reminded 



KAMI;Li:S IX EUR(jPE. 27 

me of my friend's razor which had been used to open 
half a busht'l of oysters. Toward night-tall b got 
through the agony, and several persons seeing niy scar- 
red and wounded face^ wanted to know who had been 
fighting me. 

There was no John Sullivan on board, so I had to ac- 
knowledge I had ^*tackled'' that razor of mine and came 
out second best. But I was not alone in this respect, 
for the next day I saw a poor fellow with his face so 
scraped and cut that he looked like a candidate for the 
morgue. 

Notwithstanding these trivial mishaps everything went 
off in a jolly sort of way, and these little extra things all 
go m a life time, and help us gam experience for time 
to come. 

Many of the passengers would set their watches for- 
ward half an hour each day to keep up with the boat 
time, and indeed some would be tinkering with their 
watches half the time, and the result was quite a boom 
for watch repairers when we got to Glasgow. 

I did not disturb mine from the time we left New 
York until we landed in Scotland, and then set it for- 
ward once for all. It v>^as exactly five hours and five 
minutes slow by Glasgov/ time. 

Each night there were entertainments of varied char- 
acter in the saloon, and one especially, called the 



28 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

**Breach of Promise Charade'* was a master piece, and 
to judge of the applause rendered, one would think it 
must have been the work of professionals, rather than of 
amateurs. The steeragers had a dance and a parade 
several times in their portion of the vessel, and despite 
their hard fare and harder quarters, they seemed to have 
a good time generally. 

In crossing from America to Europe the steeragers 
are not crowded, and can therefore have a compar- 
atively pleasant time, but woe befall the decent man 
who takes steerage passage from Europe to America, 
for then most every steamer is filled with the poorest 
Hungarians, Bohemians, Italians, and much of the scum 
of Europe, and the odor from the steerage is like a 
breath from a sewer. To be kept there ten days would 
be something worse than purgatory, and besides it is 
claimed a person w^ould be the purer from having enter- 
ed purgatory, whereas the opposite is true in regard to 
sleeping, (if it could be called sleep), in the steerage. 
The parade of the steeragers attracted more attention 
than their dances. 

They would form in line two by two and march a- 
round and around in their contracted quarters to the 
tune of an old fiddle that had lost one of its strings. 
Another man had a huge iron pot which he would 



I 



RAMBLE? IN EUROPE. 20 

pound most unmercifully, and the more noise he made 
the better he appeared to enjoy it, and the cWn was al- 
most sufficient to make an ordinary mortal deaf. — 

Finally the captain sent word to dispense with the so- 
called kettle-drum beating, and from that moment the 
parade lost most of its charm to the steeragers. 

The smoking room on an ocean steamer is a lively 
place and generally pretty well patronized. Th.e room 
all day has the appe'arance of being in a dense fog, and 
card playing and gambling goes on fro!*n early morn till 
near midnight. The electric bell in the smoking room 
does good (or bad) service and each time it is touched 
the bar-room steward appears, and an order for cham- 
pagne, wine, whiskey, beer, or stout is the invariable re- 
sult. It is hard to tell whether the good or the bad over- 
balances on an ocean steamship. 

The faithful steamer dashes on and on through the 
phosphorescent waters and we are nearing the coast of 
Ireland. 

The officers tell us that we may see -land before night, 
and so tv^^ry one wlio is not too busy writing to far a- 
way friends, are on the quivive to catch the first glimpse 
o^ the Old World. 

Nearly all steamers bound from America to Glasgow, 
direct, now-a-days, take the course known as the ''North 



30 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

About'^ and pass around the north of Ireland instead of 
making it at the south end and passing up through the 
Irish Channel. Late that afternoon a young lady shout- 
ed '^O, there's land !'' and true enough, far in the dis- 
tance, looking like vapor, we could distinguish Tory 
Island, on the extreme north-west coast of DonegaL 

Marine glasses were brought into requisition, and all 
eyes were strained to see what we could see. 

Shortly after this we got a distant view of the terribly 
rocky and threatening main-coast, at Malta Head. 

The next point is the coast of Instrahull off the most 
northern extremity of all Ireland. 

It was now dark yet most of the passengers remained 
on deck for hours looking at the light-houses along the 
shore. Having something of an owl nature I did not 
retire till after mid-night, and thus was too sleepy in 
the morning to arise early enough to take in the pic- 
turesque scenery of the lower Clyde. When I arose at 
8 a. m. the Nevada was lying at anchor at the city of 
Greenock, Scotland, having made the passage— 3,000 
miles in ten days. 

Health officers came aboard and inquired if every- 
thing was all right in a sanitary point of view. Custom 
House inspectors examined into our luggage to see if we 
bad any dutiable articles. 



RAMHLKS IN ETRuPE, 31 

All the trunks, boxes, valises, and bundles that could 
pass ins|>ection were chalk-marked, to sliovv that nothing 
contraband was found therein. 

The British Custom laws are very strict against pas- 
sengers having among their effects, spirits of any kind, 
tobacco, or American re-print of English books, and 
tliese three articles are liable to seizure and confiscation. 

So far as I could see nothing liable to confiscation 
was found and we were all allov/ed to go on our way re- 
joicing. 

The climate of Scotland is very raw and cold and it 
rains nearly seven days each v/eek. 

One passenger said he had visited Scotland not less 
than ten different times, and on'y once it was not rain- 
ing when he landed, but even then the weather was 
prepariug for a rain, for, said he, *'the next four days 
it came down solid as in the days of Noah." 

It was niisty and rainy — regular Scotch weather — 
when we landed, A gentleman inquired ofaboyin 
Glasgow if it rained there all the time. "O no sir" re- 
plied the boy, ''sometimes it snows." 

The Great Eastern steamship — a second Noah's ark — 
was lying in the channel at Greenock, and several of 
ns pai^i iicr a visit. She was at first named tlie Levia- 
tJian and I think such a vessel well deserves that title. 

The cost of launcirlng this immense vessel alone a- 
mounted to ^350,000, 



32 RAMBLES IN EUROPKo 

The length is 700 feet, and the breadth across the 
paddle-boxes 118 feet, breadth of hull 85 feet, d.^pth 60 
feet, and the tonnage 23,500. This ship is propelled 
by a combination of paddle wheels and screw. For 
the paddles her engines are of 3,575 indicated horse 
power: for the screw 4,700 indicated horsepower. — 
The boilers for all this stupendous machinery are ten in 
number, each boiler weighing upwards of fifty tons ; four 
of these drive the paddle engines, and six the screw. 

It has also powerful auxiliary engines for turning the 
screw when under sail, and has no less than ten donkey^ 
engines for pumpmg and for various other purposes. 

The Great Eastern possesses accommodations for 900 
first-class passengers, 2,000 second class, and 1,300 third 
class. The consumption of coal amounts to 450 tons 
per day. 

This is the vessel that gained such fame in laying the 
great Atlantic and other telegraph cables, — a work for 
which she is well adapted, and which, indeed, no other 
vessel could have attempted with success. At the pres- 
ent time she is idle, and her owners are at a loss to 
know how she can be profitably employed, so very great 
is the expense of running her. 

Greenock is only 22 miles from Glasgow, and the 
tide being too low to allow the Nevada to proceed fur- 
ther up the river Clyde before evening, the passengers 
were all furnished free rail-road tickets to Glasgow, by 
the State Steamship Company. 

At Glasgow some of us pat up at the St. Enoch's Ho- 
tel, and after dinner took a stroll to see the city. 



RA^ BLES IN EUROPE. 33 



CHAPTER II. 

Chapter 1 1. — Places visited in Glasgovv — Edinburgh — Ineffaceable 
blood — British railway coaches — Carlisle — London — Its promi- 
nent places of interest described — Immense grape vine — Lost 
in the Maze — Sp urgeon-^" Wesley s House" — Underground 
railways — Excursion to Dublin — Liverpool docks — Choppy, 
Irish Sea — Many sea-sick — Dublin described — Return to Lon- 
don. 

There are many interesting places in and around the 
ancient city ofGlasp^ow. The old Cathedral is a stately 
and magnificent edifice, in the Saxon-Gothic style. 
There are 159 windows in this noble building, and 
the wonderful paintings on the glass date back to the 
year 1238. It would require a volume to describe fully 
this sacred pile, and in these few pages there is only ropni 
to barely mention the most noted places visited in Eu- 
rope. 

Among other places visited during my three days stay 
at Glasgow, were the Hunterinn Museum, Industrial 
Museum, Alexandra Park, Botanic Gardens, The Ne- 
cropolis, Livingstone Monument^ Glasgow University, 



34 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

and the A.bert Bridge.. Glasgow and suburbs had a 
population in the summer of 1887 ^^ 775'^5^ ^^"^d ^s 
therefore much the largest city in Scotland. With9ut 
forgetting to pay my hotel bill I hurried on to Edin- 
burgh, the capital. 

This '^Modern Athens,'^ as Edinburgh is often termed^ 
is without doubt the prettiest city of Scotland, and one 
of the finest in Europe. It has three points of principal 
interest, all elevations, and lying nearly equidistant from 
each other, in a triangle, the first being the Calton Hill, 
the second Arthur's Seat, and the third the Castle. Cal- 
ton Hill is quite a resort in the afternoon, and from its 
romantic summit a person can get a splendid view of the 
city and surrounding country. 

On this Hill is the Nelson, National, and other fine 
monuments ; the Observatory is well worth visiting as 
it affords a charming view over the Firth of Forth. 

Burns* Monument, a beautiful structure, pillared and 
Grecian, with winged griffins supporting an hour glass ; 
and a bust of the poet is one of the attractions of the 
place. 

The Palace of Holyrood is a queer but handsome old 
French-looking chateau, with pointed pepper-box tur- 
rets, by far the most interesting building in Scotland, 
and unexcelled by any in Europe. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 35 

The Palace was founded by David the First, the 
Crusader about the year 1130, and it has ever since 
held a prominent place in Scottish history. The 
Picture Gallery contains the portraits of David the 
First, Robert Bruce, Charles the First, James the Fifth, 
and many of the ancient royal families of Scotland. 

Lord Darnley's Rooms come next in order of show- 
ing, with pictures and tapestry ; then the Staircase is 
seen — that narrow staircase up which the assassins crept 
to murder David Rizzio, and the spot at the stair-head 
where Rizzo was dragged to die is yet marked by a dull 
red stain which is called the ineffaceable blood. 

One of the most sadly attractive places on earth is 
Queen Mary's Chamber, where she slept, the room is 
panelled in ceiling and the walls tapestried, the bed is 
still standing, while several other remembrances of her ; 
table, work-box with work, etc. fill up the room just as 
she left it three hundred years ago. 

Adjoining the Palace of Holyrood are the ruins of 
Holyrood Abbey, of which the roofless walls still re- 
main. 

Arthur's Seat is the high hill over-looking Edinburgh, 
with a collar or ruff of rocks under its brow. Many 
interesting objects present themselves in driving from 
Hie foot of Arthur's Scat, u[) the Canongate and Castle 



36 RAMBLES IN EUROPE, 

Hill to the Castle. The very tall old houses (same of 
them twelve stories high !) the narrow alleys or "Wvnrls'* 
and several ancient charches, among them the Ti^oo 
Church in which may be seen the altar where Annie 
Laurie was married. The House of John Knox is visi- 
ted by many of the tourists who *'do'' Edinburgh. 

He was one of the greatest Reformers the world has 
produced, and well deserves the inscription on his- 
tomb — "Here lies he who never feared the face of man/'' 

Edinburgh Castle is a rock-throned, commanding andf 
X^icturesque place, where I remained several hours with- 
unabated interest. Among the other objects which- 
should certainly be seen at Edinburgh, is the Scott Mon- 
ument, on Prince's street, a Gothic structure of more 
than 200 feet in height, with a magnificent colossal 
statue of Sir Walter, by Steel, shrined within, many 
emblematic figures, an inscription by Jeffrey, and alto- 
gether one of the finest monumental works of the age.^ — - 
My stay in Edinburgh was limited to a few days, so 
I could not get to visit many of the Castles, Abbeys, 
Chapels, etc., for which all that historic region is noted. 

Edinburgh has a population (1887) of 250,000 inhabi- 
tants, and the houses are all of stone. 

It ought to be called the Rock City for no where else 
on this little globe can be fouxd'^so many quarries as are, 



RAMDl.KS lx\ EURUl'E. o7 

locaUd near the substantial and aristocratic capital city 
ot" ])t)nn\' Scotland. The dress of the Higlilanders of 
Scotland, and also of the Scottish soldiers would cause a 
stranger to think they would be very liable to die of cold 
in winter. 

After remaining at the Waverly Hotel in Edinburgh 
three days, I purchased a ticket for London, over 400 
nnles distant. The coaches on the British railways are 
not as convenient as those in the United States ; each 
car is divided into three or four compartments, to give 
more privacy it is said, and the passengers are locked in 
just before the train starts. And if it should be cold 
weather a passenger would not feel very comfortable, 
for there arc no stoves nor heating apparatus, except 
a pan of hot water to warm your feet, and when the 
water cools, the traveller would imagine that he was on a 
train bound for the North Pole. This arrangement ap- 
pears to be behind the times, still it has this advantage ; 
in case of a wreck the hot water cannot set the cars 
on fire like our stoves have done in so many instances. 
In journeying from Edinburgh to London by the Mid- 
land Route, the tourist gets a view of the best portion of 
the Kingdom. 

The i)anoramic view of the garden of Ijritian as we 
speed along fifty uiiles per hour is calculated to impress 



38 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

itself upon the mind with such vividness as never to be 
erased. At Carlisle I rernained one day to see the sights 
of the historic city where King Arthur once held Court. 
The old castle is an object of great interest and visited 
by many. 

On the route from Carlisle to London (300 miles), we 
pass near the English Lake Region, and a more lovely 
country is not often found. 

Railway trains in England make greater speed than in 
America, and there is no danger of collision, for one 
road never crosses another except by tunnel or bridge. 
Even the turn-pike and county roads always cross a- 
bove or under the railway track. 

The locomotives never have cow-catchers, for such a 
thing is not needed. I was telling an Englishman that 
all the locomotives in America had cow-catchers, and 
he said, ^^what do they want to catch the poor cows for?'' 

From Carlisle to London the express only made five 
stops, and one of these was at Bedford, famous as the 
place where Rev. John Bunyan was imprisoned for so 
many long years while he wrote the Pilgrim's Progress. 

London, the capitol of England is on the River 
Thames, and the largest city on the earth. 

The population of this enormous metropolis is nearly 
five million souls, or about as many inhabitants as the 



RAAIDLES IN EUK'OrE. o'J 

cities of New York, Philaclei])hia, Chicago, ]]rooklyn, 
St. Louis, and soir.e other cities combined. 

It is a world in miniature. A person could remain in 
this city for months sight-seeing and then not take it all 
in. It was my privilege to remain here more than five 
weeks altogether, and then I had to trot around lively 
to see the principal objects of interest. If any one were 
to walk one way through all the streets of London, he 
would be obliged to go a distance of 3,000 miiles, or as 
far as it is across the American continent from New 
York to San Francisco. 

It is 20 miles long and 12 miles broad. There are 
more Scotchmen in London than in Edinburgh, more 
Irishmen than in Dublin, more Jews than in all Pales- 
tine, more Roman Catholics than in Rome, and more 
Welshmen than in Cardiff, with foreigners from all parts 
of the world, including a great number of Americans. 
Yet there are so many Englishmen in London that one 
is not likely to notice the presence of these people of 
other nations. This vast body of citizens eat every year 
500,000 oxen, 1,500,000 sheep, 8,000,000 chickens and 
game birds, not to speak of calves, hogs, and different 
kinds of fish. They consume 500,000,000 oysters, 
which although it seems a large numiber, would only 
give, if ecpially divided among all the peoi)le, one oys- 
ter every third day to each person. 



40 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

There are 300,000 servants in London, enough persons 
to make a large city ; but as this gives only one servant 
to each dozen citizens, it is quite evident that a great 
many people must wait on themselves. 

In London there is a birth on an average of every 
four minutes, and a death every six minutes. 

There are more than 700,000 houses and an average 
of seven persons to each building. 

There are 60,000 families in London, each of which 
cook, sleep, and eat in one room. No where else upon 
the globe are the extremes of wealth and poverty shown 
in such contrast as in this city. There are many ways 
of seeing London ; just according to the taste of the 
visitor will his steps be led in this or in that direction. 
If you wish to have a just conception of the magnitude 
of this city you must not be satisfied with seeing its great 
streets and squares, but must survey the innumerable 
little lanes and courts. 

It is not in the showy evolutions of buildings, but in 
the multiplicity of human habitations which are crowd- 
ed together, that the wonderful immensity of London 
consists. 

Its size seems to impress itself more and more upon 
the stranger, and this city is a notable exception to the 
rule of familiarity breeding contempt. 



RAMBLlilS IN EUROPE. 41 

There is an army of postmen and they deliver mail 
matter till ten o'clock at night. But then ten p. m. in 
London during the summer would not seem later than 
8 p. m. with us, because of the length of the days in 
Britian. In London the length of a day in early July 
is nearly 17 hours ! 

In Edinburgh the days are still longer, and it often 
appears as if darkness will never come. 

One summer morning in Edinburgh 1 awoke and find- 
ing it broad day-light and the sun shining into the room, 
thought I would arise. On looking at my watch 1 dis- 
covered it was only 4 a. m. so I crawled back into bed 
again for another nap. But in winter the other extreme 
is the case, and the shortest days are then only about 
7 hours long. 

A man would have a good chance then to sleep all 
the time, for the sun would scarcely have time enough 
to penetrate through the London fog before it would be 
in order for this luminary to retire again. 

And such fogs as London can get up ! They would 
take the first premium anywhere ! Now and then we 
have a little fog in America, but London fog would turn 
its nose up at such a rival. 

I saw a big London Fog in all its glory one day, and 
it just spread itself north, south, east, and west over the 
city, and there it sat and brooded. 



49. RAMBLES Itsr EUROPE. 

People coaxed and prayed for it to go — but no go 
it had come to stay. It made London its head-quarters 
and choked every man who came out of his house. 
The sun came out to help the people, but with all 
his might he could not dispel that blackness of darkness 
which grew thicker and thicker after the sun went down. 
The fog was determined to remain and black every 
person that walked the street. It seemed to take par- 
ticular spite against white shirts, cuffs, and collars. — 
Strangers in the city said they would leave if the fog 
didn't, but he never moved an inch. The longer he 
remained the heavier he got, and all the smoke and 
soot of the immense city gathered around him and he 
was then satisfied. 

The sun hid himself all the next day, and did not so 
much as make his appearance. The fog still got thick- 
er and blacker, and the people had to light their lamps, 
candles and gas to see where they were. Some of the 
sick people said ^TU die if this awful fog don't leave," 
but the cruel fog said — *'I didn't come to leave, I came 
to stay" and so he stuck, and the sick people died. — 
Finally, when all the strangers had their grip-sacks 
packed, and were making for the first train, this old 
London fog said, — ^'This thing is geting to be monoto- 
nous, I'll take a short vacation now, but don't you for- 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 43 

get it, I'll be back again soon, and remain a little long- 
er next time," and at that I noticed the sun was mak- 
ing his appearance and everything was a little more 
comfortable for the time being. 

The reader can now have a slight idea of what an in- 
cubus the London fog is. Now that the fog has lifted 
and we have a period of sunshine, let us make haste 
to see what is to be seen in this great city. 

The cab-system of London is the best in the world, 
or only rivalled by that of Paris. Handsom cabs (two 
wheelers) and four wheel cabs are to be found every- 
where. Cab fares are set by law and the rate is one 
shilling for the first mile, and half a shilling for each 
additional m.ile travelled within the four mile circle. 

Outside of the four mile circle the charge is greater. 
Generally speaking, the cab fares of London are very 
reasonable. 

They are the legs of London, so to speak ; and the 
hurried traveller should use them freely, thus not only 
saving time and fatigue, but having a guide always at 
hand in the driver. 

With their aid the places named may be visited with 
great rapidity and yet with pleasure and satisfaction. 

Westminster Abbey is probably the first object of in- 
terest in London, from the number of great dead lying 
within its walls. 



44 GAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

It can be comfortably *^done" in one day, the first 
half devoted to Poet's Corner and the other '^free'^ parts 
of the Abbey, where stands the long array of tombs and 
tablets to the British poets, artists, and worthies, from 
Shakespeare's time to the present, with a few noble no- 
bodies intermixed ; and the latter half to an hour of 
listening, to the very fine organ and choral service, with 
a ramble at an expenditure of six pence to the guide, 
through the royal chapels and the tombs of the Kings. 

The objects of most marked interest in the Abbey are 
the noble building itself, with its wonderful aisles, arches 
and forests of noble columns ; the tombs of Shakespeare, 
Ben. Johnson, Dryden and the other poets, in Poet's Cor- 
ner ; the splendid architecture of Henry the Seventh's 
Chapel, stalls and banners of the Knights of the Bath, 
magnificent tombs of Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of 
Scots, etc. ; the golden mosaicked old altar-tomb of Ed- 
ward theConfessor, in the Chapel of the same name, with 
the tombs of Edward the First, Henry the Fifth and other 
warrior kings, the weapons carried by some of them, and 
the coronation chair in which every sovereign of Eng- 
land since William the Conqueror has been crowned. 

The stained glass windows of Westminster Abbey rep- 
resent many Scriptural scenes. In the south aisle of 
the Abbey can be seen a small marble monument with 



l^AMBLE? IN EUROPE. If) 

the words ''John Wesley, M. A. Born June 17, 1703 ; 
Died March 2, 1791," 

*'Charies Wesley, M. A. Born December 13, 1708; 
Died March 29, 1788. 

^^Th-e best of all is. God is with us". 

^'I look upon the world as my parish". 

*^ God buries His workmen, but carries on His work". 

Near i)y is another little monument of white marble, 
t^rected to tlie memory of Dr. Isaac Watts; it is divided 
l)y a fascia, over which a bust of that eminent divine is 
exhibited, supported by genii. Underneath, in a cir- 
cle, is a fine figure of the Doctor sitting on a stool, in 
Ihe attitude of deep contemplation., which is finely ex- 
pressed by an Angel opening to him the wonders of 
creation, while in one hand he holds a pen, and with the 
other points to a celestial globe. His name, the dates 
of liis birth and death, are inscribed on the plmch . — 
'^Isaac Watts, D. D., Born July 17, 1674, Died 
November 25, 17^1.8." It would be impossible hereto 
-even mention the long list of noble names with which 
this sacred building is filled. 

We pass on now to the next object of interest — the 
Houses of Parliament— which splendid structure towers 
-immediately over the Abbey. 

The Chaml>ers of the .Lords and Commons should 



46 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

both be seen, with the Queen's Throne in the former, 
and the paintings and fine bas reliefs in some of the other 
rooms ofthe building to all which, if unguided, direction 
can easily be procured from the attendants and policemen 
on duty. If Parliament is in session, the use of a small 
douceur to attendants, or the influence of the Legation 
will almost always secure admission to the Commons ; 
to the Lords the access is more difficult, though even 
that can often be managed in the same way. 

We will now turn our attention to the Tower of Lon- 
don, which is situated on the banks of the Thames, 
near the London Bridge. Visitors are admitted by 
tickets purchased at a ticket-office without, and ac- 
companied through (as well as watched) by one of the 
Queen's yeomen (called **beef-eaters," originally beatc- 
feters^^ in the costume of the time of Henry the Eighth. 

The leading attractions in this wonderful cluster of 
fortifications are to be found in the Traitors' Gate, seen 
on entering, through which the accused used to be taken 
in from boats on the river; the window of the Bloody 
Tower (seen from without,) just within which the two 
princes are said to have been smothered by Richard 
the Third ; the Horse Armory (in the White Tower), in 
which effigies of half the dead sovereigns ride on horse- 
back in full armor ; Queen Elizabeth's Armory, in the 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. . 4? 

same tower, where Sir Walter Raleigh was so long con- 
fined, and where the fatal axe and block are yet to be 
seen, by and on which fell so many royal and noble 
heads. The Jewel Tower where the regalia of England, 
crown, sceptre, sword, etc., are shown in an iron cage, 
will well merit the visitors attention. The Beauchamp 
Tower, wliere so many noble captives languished away 
their lives, will cause the visitor to believe the world to 
be more humane now, and that man's inhumanity to 
man is growing less year by year. This Tower rep- 
resents more than 800 years of English history, and not 
even London has a more powerful attraction to the in- 
telligent traveller. 

St. Pauls Cathedral, the Royal Exchange, Mansion 
House, Bank of England (which I did not buy out), 
and Guild-hall may all be included within a single 
half day's visit by cab, St. Pauls is simply the noblest 
and grandest church -pile it has ever been my privilege 
to see. 

Ic is a truly wonderful sight, I miglit say sublime, to 
stand within and look up into the dome four hundred 
feet to the painted angels that really seem to be flying 
in the blue sky above, 

St. Pauls has some fine monuments, and in the Crypt 
below are the resting places of both Wellington and 



48 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

Nelson, and the funeral car of the former. I walked 
away up into the Whispering Gallery, and could easily 
distinguish every word that the attendant spoke in a 
low whisper from the opposite side of the dome. From 
the top of St. Pauls Church an excellent view of Lon- 
don may be obtained, and the sight was so fascinating 
that I remained there several hours beholding this great 
city of cities. St. Pauls Cathedral and the Capitol at 
Washington some what resemble each other in appear- 
ance, only St. Pauls is blackened and stained by the 
terrible fogs and smoke of London. 

Guild-hall is mainly interesting for the sake of the 
civic banqueting-hall which gives it name, and there are 
a few costly paintings and statues in some of the rooms. 
The Mansion House is the residence of the Lord Mayor 
of the city. 

The Bank of England covers eight acres of ground and 
employs more than one thousand clerks^ porters, and ser- 
vants. It is the greatest monetary establishment in the 
world. The management of the National Debt which 
amounts now to about ^^Soo, 000,000 ( near ^4,000,000- 
000), is entrusted to this Bank which receives a commis- 
sion from the British Government for keeping in proper 
condition the numerous accounts connected with that 
enormous sum. The Bank of England is altogether a 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 49 

private trading establishment like any other banking 
house in the city. 

This Bank is on Threadneedle street, and thus the 
*' old lady in Threadneedle St.," as the Bank is often 
called, is the richest old lady in the world, being worth 
over ^i6,ooOjOoo capital. 

The Royal Exchange is the third building of the 
name that has stood on the spot which the present one 
occupies ; the others having been destroyed by fire. — 
Close to the Royal Exchange, is the statue raised by the 
admirers of the late George Peabody, who, in 1869 gave 
half a million pounds ($2, 500, 000) to be spent in build- 
ing dwellings for the laboring classes of London. May 
the name of this great man never fade from memory ! 

The British Museum demands a full day from even 
the most hurried. 

It is a noble building, containing the most wonderful 
and varied collection, from books to statues, medals, re- 
lics, and objects of natural history, from all ages and 
all countries, ever gathered together into one place up- 
on earth. 

It would be impossible to give a list of the million an- 
tiquities and curiosities to be found in this the greatest 
of all museums. 

There are upwards of 75,000 volumes in the King's 



50 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

Library, presented by George the Fourth, in 1823. — 
Since then the additions to the Library have been 
very numerous and valuable. 

The Manuscript Saloon contains objects of rare in- 
terest — Royal Charters, Royal, Ecclesiastical and other 
Seals, and many handsomely bound and illuminated 
books. There are numerous manuscripts, letters, au- 
tographs, etc, in the different cases. Letters from 
Katherine of Arragon, Anne Boleyn, and Lady Jane 
Grey, also Mary Queen of Scots. Here is a letter from 
Sir Walter Raleigh to his half brother, Sir John Gilbert, 
directing that the bread furnished for voyaging adven- 
tures should be in readiness, dated ^^From the Court, 
25, August, 1586.'' 

The Egyptian Room contains numerous mummies of 
adults, children, and also animals. In this room will 
be found a large collection of ancient Egyptian sculpture, 
ranging from B. C. 2,000 to about the seventh century 
A. D. Here are bronze tablets with very ancient in- 
scriptions, also rings, seals, and terra cotta lamps, chairs 
of wood mlaid with ivory from Thebes, cushions, &c. ; 
beads and bead -work from coverings of the mummies, 
earrings, gold and jasper rings, curious necklaces and 
other ornaments ; the Jewel Room contains an exquisite 
assortment of pure gold, silver and other ornaments, and 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 51 

gold and silver coins of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine 
periods, and gold coinage of England since the time of 
the Conquest. There are dozens of other rooms in 
this mammoth Museum, and they are all filled with valu- 
able reh"cs from everywhere under the sun. 

The Crystal Palace, at Sydenham, rivals the British 
Museum in the wonderful, though different, variety of 
its collection. This beautiful glass building with its 
park, pleasure grounds, gardens, and fountains ; its un- 
equalled architectural courts, its noble series of portrait 
busts, its statuary, music, and picture ,-alleries, is, par 
excellence, the greatest sight in London, and the wonder 
of Europe as a place of popular amusement and instruc- 
tion. The gardens of the Palace are now among the 
finest in the world, and the pyrotechnic displays, com- 
bined with the great fountains, are probably unequalled 
anywhere. It would be utterly impossible to exagger- 
ate the beauty and magnificence of the Crystal Palace, 
and had I gone every day in the month I should have 
found something new, something to admire, something 
to learn. This Crystal Palace is ten times the size of 
the one which was built some years ago in New York. 

Windsor Castle and Park (some distance out from 
the city) are visited by nearly all tourists. The castle 
is shown whenever the Queen is not resident there, and 



0-i RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

she is generally absent in summer. The castle is ex- 
quisitely tasteful In location and grand grouping of 
towers ; and the vievv- from the Terrace is wondrously 
beautiful. The most notable rooms within, are Stl 
George's Chapel, where all the Knights of the Garter 
are installed, and most royal ceremonies take place; 
St. George's Hall, devoted to the festivities of the order ; 
the Waterloo Chamber, with portraits connected with 
the great battle, etc. It is almost needless to &ay that 
the acme of art and luxury is reached in these regal 
apartments, and that nowhere else can such glimpses be 
caught of the state surrounding an English sovereign. 

A drive of matchless beauty, three miles long and 
bordered with the noblest elms in England, leads away 
to the Great Park and the beautiful Lake— Virginia 
Water, which should be driven to, and the latter walk- 
ed around, after leaving the castle. 

Hampton Court, a splendid old palace and park, 
comes next in the order of visiting. This place once be- 
longed to Cardinal Wolsey, and afterwards to Henry 
the Eighth. The park is five miles in circumference, 
and well stocked with deer, and the walks about the 
neighborhood may be designated as superb. Picnic 
parties from London often remain all day and take the 
late train or steamer back(25 miles) to the city. I went 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 53 

mc^re to Hampton Court Palace to see the wonderful 
grape vine there, than for any other object. This im- 
mense vine covers nearly an acre of ground and bears at 
least a ton of grapes every year, and is by far the largest 
grape vine in the world. I had heard of this giant vine 
so many different rimes that I was prepared to find a 
monster one, but upon examination it was found the 
half had not been told me. Truth is stranger than fic- 
tion, and this noted grape vine is worth a pilgrimage to 
see. A green -house is built over it, and two men are 
there always to watch and care for it. The rich ripe 
grapes hung in great clusters while I viewed it, but 
neither for love nor money could a bunch be procured. 
This vine belongs to the royal family, and the wine 
made from these grapes is of a superior quality. One 
of our party asked the attendant if the Queen consumed 
all the fruit of that vine each year ! Near the Palace is 
the far famed Maze, and this maze only covers an acre 
of ground, yet it is so intricate in its arrangement as to 
appear interminable, especially to the luckless individual 
who would explore its endless paths. This labyrinth 
is formed of high hedge and tangled thorn thicket, and 
the paths through-out are only wide enough to allow one 
person to walk comfortably, but two can pass each other. 
Each one who enters this maze must pay a penny 



54 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

to the man at the entrance. Well, as I was in for a 
little experience, thought I would take in this tangle for 
a few minutes. It looked so simple that I had confidence 
enough to believe that half a dozen such jungles couldn't 
puzzle me. It was my intention to walk all through, 
show several young ladies how to get out, and then 
ask the gate-keeper if he meant that little thicket to 
bewilder any one. I walked in a little ways and stopped 
to see how the maze looked. It looked pretty well, and 
so I kept right on m one direction. But soon that path 
came to an end, and I had to retrace my steps and take 
another path which wound around and around till it 
also went no further, and again it was necessary to re- 
trace my steps a little and enter another path, from 
wdiich there were dozens of other paths leading. Here 
I met several persons trying to find their way out, to 
whom I gave full and explicit directions (as I thought), 
how to find the entrance. On we went and again the 
path ended, and I had to come back and take another. 
Several other persons who looked almost tired to death, 
inquired if I knew the way out. I replied ^'O, yes, no 
trouble to get out of here" — and in the kindness of my 
heart was about to show them out, when I thought, 
probably I had better see the end of this little maze first, 
and then I would come back in a few minutes, and we 



RAMBLES IN EUROrK. 55 

would all go out together. They waited for me, and so 
I walked on pretty fast, intending to see all of the maze 
and get back soon, saying to myself as I went along, I 
may as well see it all while I'm here, for its only a mat- 
ter of a few moments at farthest. I met dozens of per- 
sons and every one asked me if I could tell them how 
to get out. I was suprised to find so many people lost. 
On and on I went sometimes travelling in a circle, 
and sometimes in a straight line and following each 
path till it came to an end. There seemed to be not 
less than ten thousand paths. Still I went on, first by 
one path and then another and the hedge growing eight 
feet high on either side of me. I thought to myself, 
this is a pretty good sort of a maze after all, and reflects 
credit on the man who first conceived it, and laid it 
off. While I was thinking thus and walking rapidly, I 
ran into the first party that I had given full directions, 
how to find their way out. They looked at me and I 
at them in mutual wonder. I thought they had gotten 
out long before. One of the party wanted to know 
what kind of directions I had given him ; and it was hard 
indeed to make him believe I had not tried to deceive 
him, and his wife said ; ^'lets follow the gentleman till he 
goes out himself, and then we will be sure to find the 
way.^' I could not with good grace object to this, and 



56 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

SO they followed me. On and on we went, first coming 
to the end of one path and then finding another, till I 
commenced to think I had seen almost enough of the 
maze. Several times he asked me — ' ^ Are we nearl)^ out ?' ' 
and I told him I was not hunting the way out, but mere- 
ly walking through the maze to see it all, but in a short 
while would be ready to go with him and his family to 
the entrance. 

His children began to cry, and one little fellow who 
looked more dead than alive, said, he had a gravel in 
his shoe. His father picked him up and carried him. 

Just as we were about to turn from one path into 
another, I heard voices ahead, and in another minute' 
came across the party I had promised to pilot out, and 
who had been patiently waiting for me. 

They seemed glad to see me, and one man said he 
believed he could find the North Pole as quick as he . 
could the way out of that labyrinth. I inquired why 
they had left the place I first saw them, and the spokes- 
man said — '^Left what place, why, we haven't moved 
one inch since you left." Then for the first time, it 
dawned upon my mind that I was as much lost as the 
rest of the party were ! Feeling that an open confession 
was good for the soul, I said, **Ladies and gentlemen, 
I am really amazed to find that Vm bewildered by this 



T^AMP.T.F.S IN nrUOt^K. T) < 

little niizmaze, but let us hope for the best ; this ]:)larc 
is only an acre in size, and if you will all follow me I 
think it won't be long before we can find the entrance. 
One man said — "We don't want to find the entrancej 
we are already deep enough in this maze, we want to find 
the exit," I explained it was all one and the same place, 
and so off we started, some of the party so tired as to 
be hardly able to move. After walking about a mile 
along the different paths, and getting more confused at 
each step, one man said he could go no further, might 
as well die where he was as anywhere else, and so we 
left him to his fate, and still pushed along. Another 
of the party said, ''I don't believe Satan himself could 
fine the way out of this jungle," and with that he gave 
an awful groan, and sat down to rest, but the balance 
of us kept going. We met two men coming toward us, 
and just as we were about to inquire the way out, they 
got in the same question first. 

Things were getting desperate, and the whole party 
sat down to rest, and wipe the perspiration from their 
faces. I left them there, and still toiled through that 
terribly tangled thicket till I thought I travelled enough 
to tire three thirsty thread-bare tramps. And still I 
was in that maze. I wondered to myself whether it 
would be right to murder tliat penny collector, who 
invited the innocent to enter his net. 



^^9> I^AMBLES IN EUROPE. 

But the first thing was to get to him. I sat down and 
pondered and pondered; and drew a pencil and paper 
from my pocket and tried to draw apian of this maze, 
but all in vain, no one but the man (or demon) who 
planned and planted it^ could unravel the complicated 
and entangled mysteries of those paths. While en- 
gaged in this delectable and stimulating drawing, I heard 
some one coming, and looking up saw two young ladies 
who had been in this trap five hours trying to get out, 
and had well nigh given up hope. 

I looked at my watch and was astonished to find I 
had been in nearly as long, and had left a friend out- 
side, telling him I would be back in few minutes 1 The 
sun was sinking towards the west, and I thought I would 
just as lief be lost in the Great Desert, as in that intob 
erable maze all night. 

I was about to make one more final effort when I 
heard a man say — ^'Svhat will you give me to show you 
out?" I quickly replied — ^^I gave a penny to get in, 
but will give a pound to get out." At this, I saw 
it was the gate-keeper who had come in to show us 
all out, (which he does every evening at sundown) 
and thus we all escaped from our terrible prison, and 
were so thankful at being rescued that we forgot to 
murder that maze-maker who was the cause of our tire- 
some experience. 



RAMi'.LKS IX KIROPK. o!-) 

On the way from London to Hamilton Court, the 
pretty little village of Kew is passed. Kew hardens 
contain perhaps the most splendid collection of jjlants 
in the world ; and the Palm House, 360 feet long by 90 
wide is one ot the largest glass buildings in existence. 
Here are to be seen the gigantic Victoria Regia lily, the 
noble series of palms, orchidcX, pelargoniums, roses 
and evergreens, the flora of every land and clime, and 
all grov.nng to perfection. 

Hyde Park, one of the ''lungs of London" covers a 
s])ace of 400 acres, and is the most fashionable resort of 
the city. 

The Albert Memorial Monument, 160 feet high, one 
of the very finest on the globe, is to be seen in this 
])ark. The m.emorial itself reminds one of the Scott 
monument in Edinburgh. 

Regents Park is of a circular form and consists of 
450 acres laid out in shrubberies, adorned with a line 
lake, and intersected with beautiful roads and delight- 
ful promenades. 

In summer evenings bands dipense music here, as in 
Hyde Park, till nearly midnight. The Zoological Gar- 
dens are situated in Regents Park, and contains the 
largest collection of rare and most beautiful animals to 
be found on the face of the earth. I remained lliere 



fiO RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

a whole day and then saw only a portion of the three 
thousand wild beasts. It is quite an event to see the 
animals fed, and the rapidity with which great masses 
of meat are devoured^ very forcibly demonstrates that 
the safest place for the visitor is outside of the cage. 
From Primrose Hill, near Regents Park, a fine view of 
the city may be obtained. 

The residences of the nobility and gentry are princi- 
pally at the west, south-west, and north-west part of Lon- 
don, while the south, or **overthe water" as it is called, 
contains the homes of the middle class. But the poorest 
and most squalid people to be found anywhere are to be 
met in East London. One day I took a stroll through 
the lowest portion of East London, and it did not 
require much time to realize that the population there 
were not all saints. I encountered hordes of filthy 
drunken persons, many of them women, who wanted to 
monopolize all the side walk. A man who looked like 
a cut-throat, asked me if I wouldn't have him to show 
me the rounds of the city. I declined with thanks, but 
that did not suffice, for he followed me half an hour. 
After awhile I stopped to see why he followed me ; but 
no sooner had I halted, than another rough looking 
customer, with a bottle sticking out of his pocket, 
asked me the time of day. I saw he was ready to 



RAMBT,KS IN EUROPE. CI 

snatch m}- watch, and so walked off witlioiit telling him, 
which so insulted his dignity that he threatened forth- 
with to break my neck. 

The first man then came np and advised him to put 
his good resolution into effect, but very fortunately at 
this juncture, a policeman made his appearance, and 
these two promising fellows disappeared up an alley, 
I then asked the policeman the name of the street, and 
he replied-— ^^Christian street" — I came to the con- 
clusion they were pretty hard Christians in that quarter, 
and so vacated as speedily as possible; and like the cele- 
brated Dr. Foster, I never went there again. 

London Monument w^as erected in commemoration 
of the Great Fire of i666, which originated but a short 
distance from this spot, it is a noble, fluted column of the 
Doric order 202 feet high, including its massive pedestal, 
and surmounting cippus and blazing urn. Within the 
column is a flight of 345 steps leading to an iron balcony 
above the capital, from which the prospect is extremely 
pleasing. Here I remained several hours and enjoyed 
another birds-eye view of this great city. 

While in London I visited the Metropolitan Taberna- 
cle several times, and heard the Rev. Charles Hadden 
Spurgeon preach a few of his eloquent sermons. His 
church is always packed to its utmost capacity, yet each 



6^ RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

word can be distinctly heard j so clear and penetrating 
is his voice. 

Also attended services at St. Pauls, Westminster Ab- 
bey, City Roads Chapel, The Temple, and several other 
ancient churches. 

The British and Foreign Bible Society is the largest 
on the globe, and issues each year more than 4,000,000 
Bibles and Testaments, in hundreds of different langua- 
ges and dialects, I was kindly shown all through this 
noble Institution, spending a few hours with more than 
usual interest and profit. 

The next place visited was Bunhill Fields Cemetery, 
where can be seen the vault in which repose the remains 
of the Rev. John Bunyan ; and near by is a tomb bear- 
ing the words, ^'Isaac Watts, D. D.," another: ''Daniel 
De-Foe, Born 1661, Died, 1 731, Author of Robinson 
Crusoe." George Fox, founder of the Quaker church, 
is buried at Bunhill, The tombs of the Cromwell^'s are 
also to be seen here. 

The old ''City Roads Chapel" where John Wesley 
used to preach is just opposite this cemetery. Adjoin- 
ing the Chapel is a four story brick dwelling bearing 
the words "Wesley's House." Rev. John Wesley's 
remains are interred in the City Roads Chapel Burial 
Grounds (opposite Bunhill Fields Cemetery), and on 



RAMP.r.KS IN EUROPE. G3 

hi^ nu^niiment are the words : * 'Sacred to the memory 
of the venerable Joiin Wesley, A. M., late Fellow of Lin- 
coln College, Oxford." From here I wended my way to 
St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and saw the place where 
many were tortured during the Persecutions. The fol- 
lowing words are written on a tablet inserted in the 
wall of St. Bartholomew's Hospital. 

**The noble army of Martyrs praise Thee." '^With- 
in a few feet of this spot John Rogers, John Bradfoni, 
John Philpot, and other servants of God, suffered death 
by fire, for the faith of Christ, in the years 1555, 1556, 
and 1557. 

'^Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." 

It was indeed holy ground ; and helped to confirm and 
give a new meaning to the truth of the words, — ^-The 
blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." 

My next move was to Trafalgar Square, and the most 
conspicuous object there is the Nelson Column, a fine 
pilhn- 177 feet high, erected in 1843. ^^ ^^'^^-^ Admiral 
Nelson who used the memorable words at the battle of 
the Nile, '*01d England e)wpects every man this day to do 
his duty." Monuments erected to the memory of Lord 
Nelson, and the Duke of Wellington (The L'on Duke), 
are to be seen in all the cities of Great Britain, and 
England does well to honor her heroes. 



64 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

The example of such men live in each successive gener- 
ation. 

After remaining half an hour at Trafalgar Square ; 
my next visit was to the famous London Bridge, the 
most substantial and elegant of all the dozen structures 
which span the Thames at this city. The scene from 
here is unique, and there is no bridge on the globe where 
such a vast concourse of persons cross and recross every 
day. 

To stand on this spot at night, and admire the long 
lines of light up and down the river ; and to see the lines 
of light crossing the dark water on the other bridges, is 
a spectacle that cannot be forgotten. My time being 
hmited, I made quick work in visiting South Kensing- 
ton Museum, Buckingham Palace, National Gallery, 
Greenwich Hospital and Park, Woolwich Arsenal, City 
Mortuary (Morgue), Newgate Prison, Cleopatra's Nee- 
dle, Duke of York's Column, St. John's Gate, Victoria 
Embankment and Gardens, Old Roman Wall, Battersea 
Park, Billingsgate Fish Market, Smithfield Meat Market, 
London Docks, Royal York E^ths, Soho Bazaar, Charing 
Cross Hospital, Royal Aquarium, and many other places 
of note, where I would have remained longer, and seen 
more thoroughly but for lack of time. 

The '^great fire at Whiteley's" occurred while I was in 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. bO 

London, and destroyed over four millions of dollars 
worth of property. Ten persons, (including three fire- 
men) were burned to death, and I never want to see 
another fire like it. 

The sky for miles around was perfectly lurid with 
showers of blazing sparks, and at one time it seemed as 
U the entire fire department of the city would be unable 
to cope with it. This is the third or fourth time that 
Whiteley's Univ^ersal Store has been destroyed by the 
inveterate incendiary, but each time, Phoenix like, this 
store seems to rise again from, its ashes, 

Mr. Whiteley offered a reward of ten thousand pounds 
for the apprehension and conviction of the incendiary, 
and the Lord Mayor of the city likewise offered a heavy 
reward, but all to no purpose, as the wily ''fire-bug" 
has so far escaped arrest, and there has not been found 
the slightest clue as to this most malignant enemy oi 
Mr. Whiteley. 

The underground railways of London form an immense 
net work, and are one of the wonders of the age. 

During the night the stations are all lit up and trains 
arriving and departing every few minutes. Altcgether, 
in reaching the different places of interest, I must have 
rode not less than 300 miles by the under ground railway 
of this city, even the river Thames is tunnelled and it 



66 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

seems as though nothing can oppose the skill of man. 

Regent street is the prettiest in London, and reminds 
the visitor more of a delightful avenue in Paris than 
anything'else. 

The buildings are grand and imposing the pave- 
ment is filled with pedestrians, and the ruad-way filled 
with the carriages of the nobility and gentry. 

Picadilly,(said to be named after Pickardtl, a stiff 
collar worn at the time of James 1.) is also a beautiful 
street, and one of the most fashionable in the city. 

Fleet street is celebrated for its association with liter- 
ature and literary men. Pall Mall is a street cA palaces, 
and many of the finest buildings of London are located 
here. 

Oxford St., Tottenham Court Road, High Holborn, 
and some other magnificent streets deserves special 
mention. 

Between St. Pauls Churchyard and Newgate street 
on the right hand side, is Paternoster Row, the great 
mart for booksellers. 

The Old Roman Baths are said to be more than 2,000 
years old, and the pure cold water issuing from the rock 
there was the best that I drank in London. 

'^Buffalo Bill" with his great American Exposition 
seemed to be lionized by the royalty and nobility of 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 67 

England, and met with unbounded success with 
his Wild West Show. Like all true Americans I had 
to take that in too among the other attractions. 

1 was not in London when the Queen was present 
at the Jubilee, so did not get to see her, but a month 
later saw the Prince of Wales as he was riding in his 
carriage towards Buckingham Palace. 

Quite a number of the nobility at different times T 
saw in Hyde Park, and this spot is their favorite riding 
ground. 

One day as I was reading the Times, I saw an '^Ex- 
cursion to Dublin" advertised, aud so concluded to 
take that in. 

It is about 300 miles from London to Dublin, and a 
trip that I had always purposed to make. 

AN EXCURSION TRIP 

FROM 

LONDON TO DUBLIN. 

The sun was shining brightly as the train pulled out of 
Euston station, and all nature appeared to rejoice that 
happy summer morn. There were not less than one 
hundred excursionists in our party, and all appeared to 
be in the best flow of spirits possible, while one man 
especially had indulged in enough (alcohol) spirits to 



68 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

make him quite familiar with us all. He went first from 
one passenger to another and wanted to shake hands, 
and each time the train stopped he got out and entered 
another part of the car. In Great Britain there is double 
as much drunkenness as in A.merica, and go where you 
will, the evil effects of whisky drinking is apparent in 
all its hideous forms. 

On and on the train sped, increasing with every mile, 
we passed Oxford, the great seat of learning, with its 
wilderness of Colleges and fine grounds. 

Stratford-on-Avon, the home and burial place of 
Shakespeare, was also soon left behind, and the next 
stop was at the great city of Birmingham. 

It was about noon when the train pulled in at the 
beautiful station in Liverpool. This city(Liverpool) is 
situated on the north side of the river Mersey, and is 
the greatest seaport on the globe, the trade of a whole 
world literally concentrating here. 

The docks are seven miles in extent, and cost in their 
construction more than ^ 20,000,000 — equal to ;^ioo, 
000,000. I only had time to see the docks, and then 
hurried to the steamer which was to take the excursion- 
ists across the choppy Irish Sea, 100 miles, to Dublin. — 
Many persons cross the Atlantic without sea-sickness, 
who succumb to the terribly rough waters of the Chan- 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 69 

nel, and besides, the steamers are much smaller than 
the transatlantic ships, and therefore roll and pitch a 
great deal more than very heavy vessels. 

The steamer had not been out -from Liverpqpl more 
than half an hour before I felt as giddy as a drunken man. 
.^. soon made for a berth and laid down, as a recum- 
bent position is better than any other when the vessel is 
rolling almost enough (it seems) to turn over. The 
usual number of ordmary passengers were on board, be- 
sides our excursion party, and so there were not berths 
sufficient for all. It was **first come first served" and I 
considered myself very fortunate in securing so good a 
berth. 

Indeed, had it not been for that ; I should have been 
awfully sick, for I afterward learned th^t every one who 
failed to get a berth, was more dead than alive before 
the rolling deep was spanned. 

That same drunken fellow — who wanted to shake 
hands with all on the train— ^came to my berth and of- 
fered me a pound if I would get out. I told him I was 
not able to get out, even if I had the will to do so, and 
he then wanted to get in with me. When he found 
there was no chance, he stumbled to the opposite side 
and offered a pound for a berth, but the occupant of 
that berth was too sick to talk. I don't believe he could 



70 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

have gotten a berth on*that ship for twenty pounds. 

Even those in their berths were most all sick, and 
some looked as if they were dying, while nearly all of 
us thought we were dying. 

That poor fellow outside clung to the side of a berth 
for half an hour, till the vessel gave an unusually tre- 
mendous pitch, and he then fell to the floor. 

He tried several times to get up but was not able. 

Being exhausted I fell into a doze, and must have 
slept^several hours. The clammy perspiration was all 
over my face when I awoke, and a feeling of great weak- 
ness came over me. This little trip on the Irish Sea was 
like the whole Atlantic tour condensed. I was scarcely 
able to raise my head. I looked down on the floor and 
an awful sight met*my eyes. With every roll of the ves- 
sel, that poor drunken creature would roll almost from 
one side of the steamer to the other. He was as sick as 
a dog, and vomiting and retching every time he rolled 
across the ship. 

I could not take my gaze off him, and several times 
thought he must be dead, until he would retch again 
and again. 

I never saw any mortal so sick, and if any man was 
ever sick enough to throw up his original sin, that 
person on the floor was the one. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 71 

After about eight hours rocking I heard the steamer 
whistle blow, and hoped we were reaching our destina- 
tion. 

The boat was truly in a filthy condition when we got 
across, and the passengers looked anything else than an 
excursion party. 

The poor fellow whose berth was on the floor, looked 
as if a week's repairs would hardly put him in shape 
again. 

Some of the ladies said ; if they ever got home again, 
they would never cross that channel until it was bridged, 
or tunnelled. 

It was late at night when we arrived at Dublin, and 
so the first thing to do was to do nothing, simply allow 
the ubiquitous cab driver take us to a hotel. 

As for supper, I don't think any of us could touch 
that ; for my part — felt as if I was a self sustainer for a 
week or two. 

Dublin, the capital of Ireland is a handsome city, 
with very many fine public buildings. Those best de- 
manding attention are the Castle, famous in both his- 
tory and romance ; the Bank of Ireland (once the 
Parliament House ;) Trinity College, Catholic Cathe- 
dral, and several others. There are a few fine bridges 
over the Liffey, but none equal to the bridges of London. 



72 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

The inevitable Nelson Monument is to be found here 
as in every other city of Great Britain. 

PhenixPark, the boast of every Dubliner, is a deb'ght- 
ful place, and well worthy of its reputation. 

Notwithstanding the beauty of Dublin generally, there 
are other portions of the city where filth and foulness 
reign supreme, and even more so than in many other 
cities of Europe. 

My stay in Dublin was of very short duration, and 
therefore but comparatively few places could be visited. 

The day after landing here our excursion party took 
the steamer back for Liverpool, and there was a general 
scramble this time for berths. There had been tempo- 
rary berths fixed up for us, and so we were all accom- 
modated. 

I nerved myself for the worst, and tried to sleep most 
of the time going back. 

We arrived at Liverpool about midnight, and re- 
mained in our berths till 7 a. m., and then took the 
train for London, where we arrived at noon, **right 
side up with care," but in no special hurry to take 
another trip across the little Irish Sea. 

After remaining in London a few days, I decided on 
a week's tour to Paris and Brussels. 

At Cook's Tourist Office (Ludgate Circus,) I purchased 
a Tourist Ticket to these two cities, which included 
hotel accommodation, waiters' fees, carriage drives 
around the city, and interpreter's services. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 73 



CHAPTER IIL 

Chapter in. — From London to Newhaven — Crossing the 
English Channel — Dieppe to Rouen— Paris — A gay city- 
Description of its prominent places of interest — Bundle of 
contrasts — Seeing Paris to perfection — Open Air Concert — 
From Paris to Brussels — Its places of interest — Ghent — Bruges 
Ostend — North Sea — Back again to London. 

On the evening of the last day of summer (August 31, 
1887.) Cook's Tourist Party left London Bridge Station 
for Paris, in charge of an experienced conductor. 

A person unacquainted with the French language 
could not visit the numerous places of interest in Paris 
with much pleasure unless accompanied by a conductor 
who is also an interpreter, and thoroughly familiar with 
the French capital. 

The ride to Newhaven — 75 miles — was made in two 
hours, here we waited till midnight, and then boarded 
the Normandy, a fine iron steamship, and were soon on 
our way across the English Channel. The Channel 
here between England and France is sixty miles wide, 



74 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

and the water just about as choppy as it is on the St. 
George's Channel, between England and Ireland. 

The very first thing I did on entering the steamer was 
to get a berth and try to sleep all the way across, as I 
did not want to spoil my record, after crossing the At- 
lantic and the other channel, without getting sick. 

In less than two hours from the time the Normandy 
steamed out from Newhaven, half of the passengers 
were sea-sick. As I lay in my berth one of the stewards 
brought a three gallon bucket and set it alongside of me 
with the remark — **You may need that before getting 
across.'* 

I told him I had crossed the Atlantic without getting 
sick, and his assuring response was, — '*0, that's nothing, 
that doesn^t signify you won't get sick here." 

In the berth under me there was a young man who 
said, he was travelling for pleasure. 

We often travel for things we never get, and if any 
one could find pleasure on the English Channel ; such a 
person would enjoy perfect bliss with a jumping tooth- 
ache, or neuralgia ; for a channel trip is worse than 
either. 

Each passenger had his bucket, and some were for- 
tunate (or unfortunate) enough to have two, but of all the 
buckets I saw, that of the young man's was in the greatest 
demand. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 75 

The steward brought him a little brandy once in 
awhile, but each time, before he could so much as swal- 
low it, he kindly gave it to his little bucket to keep. 
We are apt to sympathize with one another in distress, 
and it was with great effort that I refrained from follow- 
ing my friend's example. 

Every passenger on board these channel steamers is 
supposed to get sea-sick, and those who escape sickness 
are the exception. We reached Dieppe at 6 a. m., and 
a sorry lot most of the passengers were, especially those 
of the third class, who remained on the forward deck all 
through the night ; these mdeed, presented a very 
forlorn appearance. 

Dieppe, the first French city I ever saw, reminded 
me greatly of Charleston, S. C, but then the Dieppe 
market lacked the presence of Charleston's turkey- 
buzzard's which are such a distinguishing feature 
of the latter named place. Our baggage had to undergo 
inspection by the Custom House officers at Dieppe, 
after which we were soon on our way towards Paris — 
115 miles. The first place the train stopped at was the 
beautiful city of Rouen. The excursionists were allowed 
to stop over half a day here, and so we availed our- 
selves of that privilege. 

Rouen is unquestionably the most interesting city in 
France, with the one exception of Paris. 



76 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

This city lies on the north bank of the Seine, and is 
noted for its numerous churches and monuments. 

The Cathedral, with its great stained glass windows, 
is one of the finest in Europe, and next to Notre Dame, 
the most magnificent in France, 

This historic city is where Joan of Arc was burned. 

In the Museum of Antiquities are to be found the 
heart of Coeur de Lion, in a glass casket. 

We take the train again and are soon speeding across j 
the loveliest portion of Normandy, where picturesque 
hills, valleys, chateaux and cottages, castles, palatial 
residences, and other beautiful objects are passed in 
rapid succession. 

It is a fine panoramic scene to travel by rail between 
Rouen and Paris, and the run is made in two hours. 

Upon arriving in Paris our conductor furnishes 
carriages, and we are driven to a hotel where the proprie- 
tor speaks English. 

The visitor is favorably impressed with the beauty of 
this delightful city from the moment he enters it. 

Everything so gay and cheerful, it seems as if the only 
object of the Parisian is, to seek pleasure. 

Paris is the second city in size on the globe, having a 
population of 2,500,000, or nearly double the inhab» 
itants of New York. 



RAMBLE? IN EUROPE. 77 

The French are fond of display ; they feel that the 
eyes of the world, or, as they prefer grandiosely to say 
the universe, are upon them. It seems to me that no 
Frenchman or Frenchwoman ever quite escapes the idea 
that he or she is standing in the public gaze, and 
every one, therefore, dresses and makes up for his part. 
It is the rarest thing in the world to see a ragged or 
dirty man or woman in Paris. 

The working people of the humblest callings are 
always neatly dressed, and never offensive. There is a 
tendency to grandeur of architecture, and equally to 
grand names. 

The smallest hotel in Paris, and one of the smallest 
houses I have seen, has acrosi' its front the sign of 
*^Hotel de TUnivers.*' 

Pairs is a city of gardens, beautiful parks, singing birds, 
leaping fountains, sunshiny skies, lovely women, and 
all the charms and attractions that would render this 
delightful place an Elysium upon earth, and the French 
are so charmingly polite ! It is a pleasure to get into 
an omnibus when every one salutes you as if it were 
a drawing-room, and you had entered for a morning 
call; and in Paris one is always treated with respect- 
ful consideration. You are never crowded upon, never 
insulted. 



78 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

On the Continent, from the moment we land all is 
new and strange. 

Scenes, languages, costumes, and manners have the 
excitement of novelty ; and the manners especially many 
tourists find delightful. 

Mmd and heart have rest and recuperation. Money 
is scattered, no doubt, but some finds its way back, 
and what we want is money's worth. 

Whatever excitement at the doors of a theatre, no one 
is ever crowded as in England or America. 

The beautiful gardens in every open space of Paris 
are^not Jocked up, as in London, but abundantly pro- 
vided with comfortable seats ; and all along the miles 
and miles of shady boulevards there are benches with 
backs to them, on which you can repose and look upon 
the ever interesting panorama of Paris life. The beau- 
tiful creamy stone of which Paris is built, and the stucco- 
fronts, lend a magnificence and charm that no other city 
can claim. 

So very numerous are the places of interest in this 
gay city, that the hurried traveller can only visit the 
most prominent ones. The very best way for a stranger 
to see Paris is by Cook's Carriage Excursions, which 
start from Rue Scribe daily, at lo o'clock, throughout 
the summer, and in one week the tourist can take in 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 79 

almost as many places of interest, as otherwise in a 
month. 

Among the numerous places our party visited, were 
the following ; beginning with the Grand Boulevards, 
which extend on the north side of the Seine from the 
Madeleine at one end to the Place of the Bastile on the 
other. No spectacle in the world is more brilliant than 
that presented along these very wide tree bordered streets 
where open cafes for refreshments are so numerous, and 
patronized by persons of all nations, dresses, languages 
and characters, mingling in splendid confusion, and 
forming one of the attractive features of this '*pink of 
civilization.'' 

The Palace of the Tuileries, and the Gardens of the 
Tuileries were the scene of many historical events includ- 
ing two attacks and captures by the populace, at the de- 
throning ofLouisXVI, in 1793 and Louis Philippe in 
1848. 

The delightfully shaded grounds here have been large- 
ly extended, and are now filled with statuary of rare 
merit, fountains, etc., and form one of the favorite prom- 
enades for all classes and ages. A military band plays 
many national airs, near the broad central walk each 
afternoon and evening during summer and fall. 

Place de la Concorde is situated between the Garden 



80 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

of the Tuileries, and the Champs Elysees. This site 
has a tragic history. It was here that the guillotine 
stood, on which perished Louis XVI., his sister, Marie 
Antoinette, and twenty-eight hundred others, during 
the Reign of Terror. 

Foreign armies have encamped on the Place de la 
Concorde three times— the allied armies in 1814, and 
a part of the British army in 1815. In 1871 the Prus- 
sian army again encamped here, after the capitulation 
of Paris. 

Champs Elysees (Elysian Fields), adjoining the Place 
de la Concorde on the west, was laid out and planted 
with elms and limes in the 1 7th century. This is the aris- 
tocratic carnage drive and pleasure ground of Paris. 

Between two and six p. m. the scene in Champs Ely- 
sees is one of great animation and gaiety. The prome- 
nades are densely thronged with fashionably-dressed 
ladies and gentlemen, and the chairs let out for hire at 
ten cents each, reap an abundant harvest. 

In summer evenings the Champs Elysees are the resort 
of crowds of pleasure seekers. The brilliantly-lighted 
cafe's chantants, right and left of the road, are a great 
attraction. 

Truly the Champs Elysees is one of the most delight- 
some spots in the fair city, and a pleasure to all who be- 
hold its beauties. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 81 

The next place our carriage stops,, is at the Vendorae 
Column, constructed by order of Napoleon I., to com- 
memorate victories over the Russians and Austrians. 

This wonderful Column is 142 feet high and 13 feet* 
in diameter, and the metal of which it is composed was 
procured by melting 1200 cannon captured from the 
Austrians. 

Palais Royal, once a royal palace, as its name indicates, 
■ has now the appearance of a building that has seen better 
days. The garden in the centre has lost the prestige it 
had under the Empire as a fashionable lounge. 

We did not remain here long, but pushed on to the 
Tour St. Jacques, a fine square Gothic Tower from the 
top of which (owing to its central position) an extremely 
fine view of the city can'be obtained. 

The Church of St. Germain V Auxerrois has a marked 
interest from the fact that its bell sounded the signal for 
the massacre of the Huguenots on the day of St. Bar- 
tholomew. 

The Church of St. Roch, is one of those most visited 
by foreigners, on account of the fine service. The inte- 
rior is embellished with numerous paintings and sculp- 
tures, and contains several fine monuments. The ser- 
vices on Sunday are considered the finest in Paris, and 
much pomp accompanies the ceremonial on High days. 



89. RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

The Church of St. Eustache is one of the most impor- 
tant in France ; the interior is 348 feet long and 108 feet 
high. It is lofty and graceful, and the chapels, of which 
ihere are niany, are richly decorated, and contain fine 
frescoes. 

But the most impressive ecclesiastical object in Paris, 
and scarcely excelled in Europe in either grandeur or 
historical association, is the Cathedral of Notre Dame. 

This Church is one of the architectural glories of the 
world — with two immense square towers, wonderful ar- 
chitectural efforts m the portals and the front, and some 
of the finest Gothic arches in Europe in the vast inte- 
rior. Notre Dame has, in addition, a wealth of stained 
glass windows of rare size and excellence; some splen- 
did side chapels; and a magnificent High Altar, at 
which Napoleon and Josephine were crowned. 

The interior consists of nave, with double aisles, 
crossed by a transept, the general effect being of a highly 
aesthetic character. 

In the Treasury are the relics formerly kept in the 
Sainte Chapelle. They include fragments of the crown 
of thorns and of the true cross, a nail from the cross, 
many ecclesiastical vestments, silver busts of St. Denis 
and St. Louis, and other curiosities. 

The Cathedral has a seating capacity for more than 
twenty thousand persons. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 83 

The Place de la Bastile, (where formerly stood the 
massive Castle of the Bastile St. Antoine), will always 
remain an interesting spot, because of the bloody con- 
flict which occurred there during the Revolution, The 
Monument which now adorns the centre of the Place, is 
of white marble and 154 feet in height. 

On the Island of Paris, exactly behind Notre Dame, 
the visitor will find the Morgue. The bodies of all un- 
known persons who die either from accident, homicide, 
or suddenly, are exposed upon marble slabs for three 
days, unless previously claimed by friends. 

The clothing worn at the time of death is hung up 
over each body. 

While in New York and London, I had visited the 
Morgue in those cities, but the sight here was the most 
painful of all. There were seven bodies in the Paris 
Morgue ; two of them had been murdered, two more 
were cases of suicide ; a man who had shot himself 
with a revolver, and a young girl who had taken lauda- 
num. Another was a woman whose body had been found 
floating in the Seine, and the city authorities could not 
say whether it was a case of murder, suicide, or acci- 
dental drowning, as there were no marks of violence to 
be found. The other two were case of natural death, 
or rather, of poverty stricken persons who died of want 



84 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

and neglect. There are no sadder pictures to be found 
anywhere, than at the **House of the Dead'* in a large 
city. 

Among the hundred places our excursion party visited 
during our six days stay in Paris, was the great Ceme- 
tery of Pere la Chaise. This Cemetery is renowned 
throughout the world for the vast number of distinguished 
dead, who repose within its sacred inclosure. 

There are not less than 18,000 monuments in this mag- 
nificent burial place, and the fresh flowers and wreathes 
brought in every day in summer to decorate the graves, 
can hardly be estimated. 

The Cemetery is some distance out from the city, 
and we were longer in visiting this noted place than 
any other, during our week's sojourn in Paris. 

The Pantheon is a large and imposing structure, and 
stands on the highest ground in Paris. 

The Grand Opera is the largest theatre in the world, 
and covers, an area of three acres, in the very heart 
of the city. 

Between four and five hundred houses were demol- 
ished to provide the site, which cost 1^2,500,000. The 
building was commenced in 1861, and finished in 1874 
at a cost of ^7,500,000. 

Nearly every country in Europe contributed material 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 85 

for this magnificent construction, and to view this im- 
mense and elegant structure by electric light, is to study 
it to the best advantage. Several of our party took in 
the Opera one evening and found it so crowded that 
the only vacant seats were away up — up — up — in the 
fifth gallery, and so we had to sit there and be thankful. 
I believe there were several other galleries still higher 
than ours, and one man remarked — it would be a good 
idea to have a balloon to elevate persons to the top 
galleries. 

Each person pays according to the place he occupies, 
and a first class seat here would cost not less than ^8.00 
for each individual. Ours in the fifth gallery cost us 8 
francs (^1.60) apiece, and the cheapest seat in the 
House would be 5 francs. The amount of money taken 
in each evening is enormous, and almost every stranger 
who visits the city goes at least once, and some of them 
every night. The piece we saw played was all French 
to us, still we could — encore — with as much grace as the 
Parisians themselves, and thus we appeared to enjoy the 
play as well as any one there. 

All the public museums and theatres of Paris are 
open to the fullest extent on Sunday, and the restaurants 
and wine shops do their greatest business then. 

No city on the globe is more immoral ; and the danc- 



86 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

ing-saloons, where the Can-can is danced by paid per- 
formers, have packed houses every Sabbath. The im- 
modest pictures and views displayed in the shop win- 
dows of Paris would be tolerated m no city of America. 

The pamtings in the art galleries, and the statues in 
all their public buildings, show the indelicacy of these 
people, whose sole object and aim appears to be cen- 
tered on pleasure and amusement. 

The Palace and Museum of the Louvre, is filled with 
rare paintings, sculpture and curiosities, of which the 
extent is said to be ten miles, affording one of rhe cost- 
liest and most celebrated collections — with perhaps the 
exception of the British Museum — to be found upon 
earth. The Great Picture Galleries, Royal Antiquity 
Chamber, and Napoleon Room, are enough to engage 
the visitor's attention for many days. During the Com- 
mune the Palace of the Louvre had a very narrow es- 
cape from destruction. That part next the Tuileries 
was very much damaged by fire, and the Imperial Li- 
brary of 100,000 volumes entirely destroyed. Fortu- 
nately the troops of the Versailes Government arrived 
in time to save the structure itself. 

Paris is noted for its Palaces, and one of the largest 
and finest of the royal reminders is the Palace of Luxem- 
bourg, which was a royal residence till the first Revolu- 



RAMBLES IN EUKOPE. 87 

tion, when the Convention transformed it into a state 
prison. The collection of modern paintings and sculp- 
tures, which are exhibited to the public here, contain a 
number of works of art of a very high character. 

The Bois de Boulogne embraces an area of 2, 250 acres, 
and is doubtless the largest park in France. The boun- 
teous hand of nature has almost converted this splendid 
pleasure ground into a fairy land. 

No more agreeable resting place could be found, and 
the artificial lakes, with two picturesque islands, connect- 
ed by a bridge, give the whole place an enchanting ap- 
pearance. Versailes Palace and Park, considered one 
of the wonders of the world, even among royal resi- 
dences, is best seen from the garden, to which it presents 
a facade, a quarter of a mile long. 

The building is unequal in appearance, having various 
styles of architecture. Among the curiosities to be seen 
at Versailes, are the Great Picture Galleries, (much re- 
sembling those of the Louvre) filled with exceedingly 
rare and valuable works in painting, sculpture, and an- 
tiquities, the rooms measure some eight miles in extent ; 
the Napoleon and Josephine Rooms, with beds, chairs, 
tables, and many other memorials of both ; the Gardens 
and Flower-walks which are not surpassed anywhere, and 
the Park of wondrous extent and breadth of shade, voted 



88 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

as the finest avenue of shade and sward in Europe, and 
a favorite resort of the beauty and fashion of the city. 

The ArcdeTriomphe de I'Etoile, (Arch of Triumph) 
is situated two miles from the Palais Royal, on an emi- 
nence, and can be seen from nearly every part of the 
city. It is called TEtoilefrom its position in a centre, 
whence radiate twelve fine avenues, nearly all of them 
sloping upward to the Arch. This is the finest triumph- 
al Arch in existence, and is 160 feet high, 146 feet broad, 
and 72 feet deep, costmg over ^2,000,000. 

The beautiful gilded dome, 340 feet high, which sur- 
mounts the Church of the Invalides, is one of the ob- 
jects of interest in Paris. The Hotel des Invalides, 
founded in 1670 by Louis XIV, for decayed veterans, 
covers an area of thirty-one acres. Our party spent two 
hours at the Tomb of Napoleon, which magnificent mem- 
orial is placed in the Church of the Invalides. 

The Dome of the Invalides consists of a square pile, 
surmounted by a circular tower, with lofty dome and 
twelve windows. Immediately below the dome is a cir- 
cular crypt, 36 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep. The 
walls are of highly polished granite, adorned with mar- 
ble reliefs, the efi'ect of which is greatly enhanced by 
the strong golden flood of light admitted through the 
stained windows. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 89 

The mosaic pavement at the bottom represents a 
wreath of laurels, and from it rises the sarcophagus which 
contains the ashes of Napoleon I., thus fulfilling the re- 
quest embodied in the conqueror's will, as inscribed over 
the entrance to the vault — **I desire that my ashes may 
rest on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French 
people, whom I have so well loved/' 

If a person would obtain the best possible birds-eye- 
view of Paris, let such an one take the elevator and as- 
cend one of the Towers of the Trocadero. Here I re- 
mained an hour (absorbing like a sponge the sublime 
sight), and my eyes could not tire in looking down up- 
on the prettiest and gayest capital on earth. 

While London can boast of being the largest city on 
the globe, Paris is without a rival so far as beauty and 
magnificence is concerned. There has always been a 
jealousy between these two greatest of the world's capi- 
tals, and they are opposite in most respects. Below 
will be found a bundle of contrasts, showing the many 
points of difference between the social customs of the 
two cities ; 

Paris is right-handed, London left-handed. The Pa- 
risian coachman keeps to the right, the London one to 
his left. The former is seated in front of his carriage, 
the latter behind. 



90 RAMBLES IN EURQPE. 

The heart of Paris is the Hotel de Ville, that of Lon- 
don is the Bank. Paris has a girdle of fortifications, 
and an octroi, London has neither wall nor town duties. 
Paris is built with light-colored stone, London with dark- 
colored bricks. Paris has its window shutters outside, 
London inside. Paris has its portier (door-keeper), 
London its key. Paris has its public cafes, London 
its exclusive clubs. Paris takes two meals a day, Lon- 
bon four. Paris has a hundred sauces and no religion, 
London has a hundred religions and one sauce. Paris 
eats boiled meats, London roasted. Paris eats fried po- 
tatoes, London boiled. Paris loaves are long, London 
loaves are square. Paris drinks wine, London beer. 
Paris takes coffee, London tea. Paris at table is sociable, 
London isolated. Paris has the table d'hote, London 
the dining-room box. Paris is gay, London dull. Pa- 
ris whips the horses, London flogs its criminals. Paris 
makes laws during the day, London during the night. 

The Paris soldier wears red trousers and a blue coat, 
the London soldier a red coat and blue trousers. The 
former is always armed, the latter carries only a short 
stick. The Paris soldier is a conscipt, the London sol- 
dier a volunteer. 

In Paris priests celebrate marriages, in London they 
themselves get married. In Paris girls are rigidly kept. 



RAMP.LRS IX E[^R(^PE. 91 

in London they are free. In Paris married women are 
free, in London they are not. Paris opens its museums 
and tlieatres on Sundays, London on week days. Paris 
warms herself with w^ood, London with coal. Paris has 
more suicides, London more homicides. Paris is more 
of an artist, London more of a merchant. Li Paris men 
are more lively than horses, in London horses are more 
frisky than men. And it may be added that the water 
of the Seine at Paris is perfectly clean and transparent, 
while that of the Thames at London could not be more 
Stygian. 

One evening while strolling along Rue de Rivoli, 
taking in the sights and looking at the magnificent store 
windows there, a young Frenchman — perfect stranger, 
to me — introduced himself in good English and said he 
would like to show me Paris by gas-light. I told him I 
could see the city very well alone, and so saying, left 
him The next evening I was on Rue de Rivoli again ; 
another specimen of the genus homo, who looked as trim 
as a French dancing master, approached me with a low 
bow, and very pleasantly stated he was thoroughly fa- 
miliar with every jjlace in Paris ; (which I doubt not), 
had shown many tourists the rounds of the city — which 
I also doubt ncjt — and if I would only have hmi for a 
guide for a few hours, he would take me to places I 



92 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

could not Otherwise see. Again I excused myself with 
the best grace possible. All strangers who saunter a- 
long Rue de Rivoli in the evening, are bored by these 
persons who gain a livelihood by taking them to low 
theatres, music-halls, dance^houses, and other question- 
able places, and for this the visitor is expected to fee his 
attendant liberally, besides in many instances to tip him 
with wine, beer, and what ever drinks may be called 
for. This is looked upon as a legitimate business in 
Paris, and there is nothing too immoral to be legalized 
in that fair but frail city. Most every member of our 
excursion party had at one time or another, fallen into 
the hands of these oily tongued foreigners, and some of 
them pretty well fleeced for their experience. 

Many of the Parisians learn to speak English, simply 
for the purpose of filching tourists who are always flock- 
ing to their beautiful city. In fact, it is the tens of thou- 
sands of visitors who are always sight seeing, and wast: 
ing money in Paris, that mainly support this city. 

Each day our party, like a flock of sheep, would fol- 
low the conductor here and there — everywhere — seeing 
Paris to perfection. And each night we would scatter 
out more individually for ourselves, and go where good 
fortune led us, feeling as free as the air that blows. 

My last evening in Paris, thought I would enjoy a 



RAMRLF^^ IN EUROPE. 08 

quiet saunter along the Avenue de I'Opera where the su- 
perb buildings are seen to best advantage by electric 
light. And how the soft rays of the September moon 
added a charm that cannot be forgotten ! After feasting 
my eyes (and soul) on such magnificent views for an 
hour or two, I turned into Rue de Rivoli, for the pur- 
pose of making a few purchases. At one store vviiidow, 
I saw a fine looking graphoscope, (an instrument like a 
stereoscope) and was about to go in and buy it, v^^hen an 
English speaking Frencliman, who seemed to know in- 
tuitively what I wanted, said, "If you want a first ciass 
graphoscope don't go in here, these are N. G., right a- 
cross the street is the place where you can get a better 
one at half the price." So saying, he pointed to the 
large store directly opposite, where the window was full 
of graphoscopes, and wc both went over together. I 
bought one for 25 francs ($5.00) which I thought an ex- 
tortionate price, but my new found friend assured me it 
was as cheap as dirt, and less than half what tlie cost 
would be at other places. He also persuaded me to pur- 
chase several dozen graphoscopic views, souvenirs of the 
city, and other remembrancers which would be suitable 
to present to friends, and all of wliich I [)ai(l two prices 
for. 

After spending $12.00 1 went out bcnring my pur. 



94 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

chases under my arm, and my friend following me. He 
overtook me just as I got to an open air concert in one 
of the gardens, and the place was richly illuminated, 
the music fascinating, and the whole scene charmingly 
inviting. He proposed that we go in, adding : **This 
is where the elite of the city pass their evenings, and 
besides, it doesn't cost a centime. '' I rather wondered 
at the time, how a place like this could be supported 
without requiring an admission price, still I thought 
that was no business of mine, and so we both went m. 

After we were seated he said : ''All persons come in 
here free, but then each one is expected to buy a glass 
of something, and that is the only charge made." 

I noticed that each one in the assembly had a glass 
near at hand; and the waiter soon made his appearance 
and bowing, as only a Parisian can, inquired of us what 
we would have. I told my friend to call for two lemon- 
ades and I would pay for them. 

Soon the waiter returned with the precious fluid, and 
I handed him* a ^Nt franc piece (^i.oo) to take his pay 
from, expecting to receive a little change back. He 
looked at the silver piece and then at me, and began to 
talk French at a rapid rate. I asked my friend what 
the waiter wanted, and he replied^ ''another franc; you 
only gave him five francs, and lemonade here is three 
francs per glass.** 



RAMilLKS IN EUROPE. 95 

I handed him another franc and he left, but reap- 
peared in half a minute, holding a silver tray before 
my face. Again I inquired of my attendant what the 
fellow wanted this time, and he said "give the waiter 
a coin for his services in bringing you the lemonade," 
and so I had to pay that waiter for charging me ten 
prices for lemonade. 

And the open air concert performance ! I think Eve 
would have blushed to have worn such a scant and airy 
costume as those ballet girls did that night. I once 
heard of a very kind hearted old lady who attended a 
ballet dance one evening, and as soon as she sav/ one of 
the dancing girls, said : 

"Poor child, you will catch your death of cold, do 
have my shawl, and let me wrap you up," and thus 
speaking started toward the stage with shawl in hand. 
I thought this old lady's services were greatly needed 
here. 

And who could understand the singing except a 
Frenchman ? And even the music was French. The 
orchestra started another piece, and 1 started to leave 
glad to escape from such a swindling place. I had only 
gotten a square or two before that self-constituted guide 
overtook me and wanted to know why I left so sud- 
denly. 



96 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

He appeared surprised that I considered the place a 
swindle, and then waxed eloquent in speaking of 
another concert which was also free, but I kept straight 
on toward my hotel. 

When he found that I would go nowhere else with 
him, he demanded pay for showing me where to buy 
the graphoscope, and also for advising me to visit the 
open air concert. 

I paid no attention to his demands, but went into the 
hotel and then he left. 

I was positive that oily tongued guide had at least 
fifty per cent, commission on the graplioscope; so in a 
a few minutes I left the hotel, and went to the store 
just in time to see the storekeeper hand him several 
pieces of money from the till. Storekeepers often em- 
ploy English speaking Frenchmen to bring in visitors 
from America, and they will not hesitate to charge sev- 
eral prices for every article purchased. 

1 believe if old King Solomon himself was upon the 
earth, and paid a visit to Paris, he would be ''taken in'' 
too, just like the rest of mortals; for of all deceptive 
people, the Parisians are the most skilful, and have 
become proficient in all manner of ''ways that are dark 
and tricks that are vain." 

Before leaving Paris our party made a visit to the 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. . 97 

Fortifications, which are well deserving of a visit by all 
who ^*do" the city. These immense defences whicH 
extend around the city in a circle, 45 kilometres m cir- 
cumference, w^ere constructed by order of M. Theirs, in 
1841, at a cost of $28,000,000. The walls are 33 teet 
in height, circled by a moat (filled with water in times 
of danger) 18 feet deep. 

At various intervals, sixteen detached forts, outsidr 
the walls; mounted with heavy artillery of the mosf 
scientific modern construction, form an outer circle of 
defense. 

While in Paris our party took in the Panorama of the 
Battle of Rezonville, — painted by the celebrated artisi3 
Detaille and De Neuville. This Panorama was inaug- 
urated March 30, 1887, and is consequently quite a 
new work. The immense painting, covering a surface 
of 115 metres recalls one of the greatest military inci- 
dents of the Franco-German War of 1870. 

On that memorable day, nearly 32,000 men were en- 
gaged on both sides. Nothing could be more striking 
than the effect of this upon the mind and to the eye, and 
the visitor can scarcely believe that no part of the Pan- 
orama is more than thirty feet distant from the point 
where he stands, the spectator of what appears an actual 
battle. We saw several other panoramas in Paris, but 
none so admirably depicted as this. 



98 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

In the summer evening it is a delighful recreation to 
ride up and down the Seine and view the city by gas-lighto 
Several times I did this, the splendid little steamer 
travehng at the rate of sixteen miles per hour. 

From early morning till near midnight these pretty 
little vessels are filled with tourists, who take this com- 
fortable method of seeing the many objects of interest 
on boths sides of the beautiful Seine. 

The Catacombs of Paris were originally quarries, but 
in 1786 were converted into a vast charnel house, 
wherein bodies and bones collected from all parts were 
thrown in promiscuously. In 18 10 there was an attempt 
to arrange the skulls and bones, and since then they 
have been carefully stored in the various galleries and 
compartments. Several chapels have been constructed 
of these hideous materials. It is said, the remains of 
three millions of persons are deposited here ; it is many 
miles in extent. I remained here only a short time, and 
was glad to find myself in ^he light of the sun again. 

After our party had remained a week in Paris, some 
of them started back for London, direct, while others 
thought it would be better to return by way of Belgium, 
and I went with the latter party. It is nearly two hun- 
dred miles from Paris to Brussels, and through a very 
interesting country. 



RAIMHLKS IN EUROPE. \)\) 

Every hill was covered with low pruned vines, and the 
\vine of all this region is noted for its fine flavor. Not 
a square yard of waste land is found. Bits as big as 
bed blankets by the rail-side are covered with vines. 

Even the heaps of stone and earth thrown out of a 
quarr\' were made smooth, covered with soil and planted 
with vines. 

There are thousands of acres in England, covered 
with mounds of cinders and scoria around the coal-pits 
and iron works of the black country, — now so hideous 
and desolate, which might be covered over with a rich 
and profitable vegetation, as in France. 

After travelling seven hours through a fine broken 
country, full of hills, fertile valleys, swift running streams, 
and pretty villages, our train enters the lovely Belgian 
capital — just another Paris, made very picturesque by 
a large admixture of Flemish. The two languages, 
French and Flemish, are posted in the streets, heard in 
the churches, and read in the newspapers. 

Brussels has almost half a million population, and is 
one of the wealthy cities of Euro])e. It well deserves 
the title "Tittle Paris" for in most everything the peo- 
ple copy after the gay French capital. 

Paris has its Palace of the Tuilcries with its fronting 
gardens, Brussels has its Palace du Roi, with its frontniii 



100 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

park. Paris has its Bois de Boulogne, Brussels its Bois 
de la Cambre. Paris has its Notre Dame, Brussels its 
Ste. Gudule. Paris has its Latin quarter, its columns, 
its fountains, its leafy, breezy boulevards, its countless 
cafes, its attractive shops with repelling prices, its 
shocking horses and artful cabmen, its gallant and ges- 
ticulating gendarmerie, its foreign colony and mysteri- 
ous refugees; these Brussels also reproduces. Brussels, so 
far as it goes, is the gay, airy, careless, pleasant coun- 
terpart of its sister city on the Seine. There are several 
grand Palaces in this superb capital, but the one princi- 
pally visited by tourists is the Ducal Palace, noted for 
its fine collection of modern Belgian pictures. Many of 
the avenues and streets in this delightful city are on a par 
with those of Paris; and the Rue de la RequencC; one 
of the finest streets in Brussels, could hardly be dupli- 
cated anywhere. 

Adjacent to the King's Palace, and adjoining the 
Palais de V Industrie, is L'Ancienne Cour, with a collec- 
tion of old masters, which, after the Antwerp gallery, is 
the finest in Belgium. Most of the Flemish painters, 
and many of the Italian masters are represented in this 
wonderful gallery of art. 

The interior of the Hotel de Ville is interesting for its 
historical pictures and banqueting-hall. From the Tow- 



RAMDLES IN EUKOl'K. l(jl 

er on a clear afternoon the field of Waterloo can be seen, 
ten miles distant, where Wellington and Napoleon 
crossed swords for the first and last time, on that mem- 
orable Sunday in June. 

If anything can reconcile one to being reminded ev- 
ery sixty minutes he is an hour older, surely it is the 
City Chimes. They haunt you v/aking and sleeping. 
They play you charmingly into the city; they play you 
charmingly out, such music could have but one resting 
place; would be looked for only in that spire of embroid- 
ered stone, which itself crowms an edifice worthy of its 
coronet and carillon. 

Nothing could be more exquisite in its way than the 
Grande Place, surrounded with those toppling, zigzag, 
ten-storied buildings, bedizened all over with ornaments 
and emblems so peculiar to the Netherlands, the bro- 
caded Hotel de Ville on one side with its impossible 
spire rising some three hundred and seventy feet into 
the air, and embroidered to the top with the delicacy of 
needle work, sugar-work, spider-work, or what you will. 

There is just sufficient flavor about the old Place to 
enable one to enter its venerable courts with feelings of 
admiring awe. 

One thing in Brussels which a stranger would notice 
above all others, is the great good-natured dogs that 
draw the milk-wagons, and many other wagons, all over 



102 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

town — the milk being distributed from bright copper 
cans. The dog has one advantage over pony or donkey. 
Every time he stops he lays down flat on the ground and 
rests. 

At a word he is up and off, pulling like a good fellow, 
and knowing the whole milk-round, and every place to 
stop at, quite as well as his mistress. In some Belgian 
towns men and dogs pull together; here the dogs have 
it all to themselves, and really are of some use in the 
world. 

A ride of thirty-five miles from Brussels, brings us to 
the city of Ghent, where we stop long enough to notice 
the famous bell of St. Roland, *^ whose iron tongue from 
generation to generation had called citizens to arms, to 
win battles over foreign kings" but happily now is used 
in proclaiming ^^peace on earth, and good will toward 
men'* from the belfry of one of the churches in the city. 

We also notice the Cathedral Church of St. Bavon, 
which is the glory of Ghent. The crypt in this old Cath- 
edral was consecrated in the year 941 A. D. 

As you look up the nave you suspend your breath. 
On every side you are surrounded by monuments of 
marble ; the whole of the interior is lined with black 
marble, relieved at intervals with graceful scrolls and 
white monuments of Parian purity and delicacy. 

There are twenty-four chapels within the walls; the 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. lOo 

altars are alternately composed of gold, silver, and mar- 
ble; the rarest paintings, and the most elaborate sculp- 
ture teem upon you from all sides. 

Near the Cathedral is the Belfry, ;^S6 feet high, sur- 
mounted by the huge gilt dragon brought from St. So- 
phia, at Constantinople, in 1204, by Count Baldwin IX. 
The mechanism of the chimes can be examined in the 
tower, from which the view embraces half of Flanders. 

The Beguinage of Ghent is the largest in Belgium, 
and the sisters, though bound by no monastic vow, de- 
vote themselves to a religious life, w^orks of charity, 
and self support. 

This old city of Ghent with its 150,000 inhabitants, 
is a place where the visitor could profitably spend days, 
instead of hours. Notwithstanding the cheery modern 
movement and bustle, with trams and 'busses, it retains 
an ancient quaintnessand color. A pleasant odor of age 
clings to the place, as old lavender retains the flower's 
fresh perfume. 

Our next stopping point after leaving Ghent is the 
mediaeval city of Bruges. 

Bruges is twenty-eight miles distant from Ghent, and 
contains a population of 50,000 souls. Here our excur- 
sion party spends only three hours and we must not 
sleep during that time, even if the town appears sleepy. 



104 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

The light of Bruges* other days has indeed faded. 
Its commerce has gone ; its prosperity long since depart- 
ed. Once the mart of Europe, the Liverpool of the 
Middle Ages, it can boast now that it is a memory of 
old Flanders. 

There is something weird in its broad old sleepy 
streets, lined with ancient houses of rich fantastic archi- 
tecture, grotesque vistas, which take you back a gene- 
ration with every step, until you breathe and live in the 
atmosphere of three centuries ago. 

The quaint figures sitting at the low arched-doors, 
conjuring cotton into cloudy lace ; the glimpses of an- 
tique interiors through lattice wmdows; the queer cos- 
tumes that one meets; the sounding foot-fall through 
the drowsy ways ; the tinkling melody floating from the 
belfry, and clinging like a memory to the place — all is 
very dreamy and demure and old. This drooping sense 
of age is everywhere. Its Cathedral, of ungainly exte- 
rior but imposing interior, rich in pictures, monuments 
and brasses, and choir stalls embossed with the escutch- 
eons of early Knights of the Golden Fleece, an Order 
founded in Bruges m 1429, by Philip of Burgundy, dates 
from the thirteenth century. The adjacent Church of 
Notre Dame, of the same period, enshrines the sump- 
tuous marble tombs of Charles the Bold and Mary of 



RAMIII.ES IN EUROPE. 1 Of) 

l^urgundy, many pictures and the exquisitely wronglit 
statue of the Virgin and Child attributed to Michael 
Angelo. 

But our time in this ancient city has expired, and we 
are again on the wing, traveling toward Ostend, a com- 
mercial city on the North Sea. Here we remain just long 
enough to take the steamer for London, 150 miles by 
water. 

The trip on the North Sea is not near so rough as on 
the Channel, and it is not long before we reach the 
mouth of the Thames. A few hours later, and the sixty 
miles up the river is accomplished, passing many beau- 
tiful summer resorts, and picturesque places, and the 
noble steamer lands us near London Bridge which looks 
so familiar to us alL Our excursion party were all 
pleased with the ^^Circle Tour" from London back to 
London, and during oar nine days absence had tra- 
velled (including carriage drives throughout Pans and 
Brussels, and steamboat rides on the Seine) about one 
thousand miles. 

It seemed like getting home again to arrive in London, 
where we could hear our own language spoken, and not 
have to depend on the conductor, as the infant would 
its guardian. 

One of the sad things in this life is parting, and our 
pleasant little band bade each other — good bye — and, 
after a cordial hand-shake, separated, doubtless never 
to see one another again until we meet — *^where parting 
is no more." 



106 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Chapter IV. — Rambles in Hyde Park — Lovely girls — Alligators 
— Vastness of London — London at night — Pinching poverty — - 
Enormous wealth — Appetite for drink among English women—- 
Departure from London — St. Albans — Leicester— Sheffield — - 
Normantown — Leeds — Settle — Horton — *'Long Meg and her 
Daughters" — The original Gretna Green — On Scottish soil- 
Edinburgh again — Roslm Chapel — Loch Lomond — Pictur- 
esque scenery — Ben Lomond — Trpsachs — Leaving Glasgow — » 
Belfast — Giants Causeway — Sail from Larne — "Stowaways" 
• — A stirring incident — Very rough sea — Arrival in New York 
' — Home. 

It was now early in September and I had been in the 
Old World since July. Everything had gone on as 
smoothly as a marriage ceremony, and each day I ram- 
bled in Hyde Park to my hearts content. 

Especially in early autumn the trees are delightfully 
tinged with variegated colors, and a man has no poetry 
in his €oul who fails to appreciate the sublime glories of 
nature in her fulness. 

The ladies of London have an artistic nature, judging 



RAMPJ.ES IN EUROPE. ] 07 

from the numbers who, every day, visited Hyde Park 
and Regents Park gathering fall leaves, buying flowers, 
and looking at the beauties of the forest. One lovely 
day as I was sitting near the Lake in Regents Park, the 
twittering of the birds, and the humming of the little busy 
bees, combined with the soft influence of the sun caused 
me to fall into a dreamy reverie; and in this state I 
mused and mused, fancied and fancied, pondered and 
pondered, thought and thought, studied and studied, 
and all to no purpose, for I could not settle the matter 
definitely in my mind. Indeed it was a question that a 
jury could not decide, and I opine that the judge him- 
self would be puzzled to answer it. This great and im- 
portant question which I could not solve and which 
still perplexes me, is: — Where have I seen the prettiest 
girls ; m Great Britain, or France, or Belgium ? 

I bethought me of the bonny lasses of Scotland, none 
more fair than they ; of old Erin's charming daughters, 
so light-hearted and so gay; of the merry-maids of Eng- 
land, with such wealth of auburn hair; and the dark-eyed 
Parisian damsels, famed for beauty everywhere, while 
Belgium's charming girls so sweet, are not surpassed by 
any we meet. 

But the more I considered this subject, the more con- 
fused I became, and the more difficult it was to deter- 



108 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

mine, and at last was forced to the conclusion that there 
are some things too high for man — beyond his grasp — 
and can therefore never be found out. 

To the stranger, London presents the aspect of inter- 
minable streets, the greater part of which are of commo- 
dious width, with houses of a sombre and rather dingy 
look, caused by the use of large quantities of coal fuel. 

Probably the most crowded portion of London is at 
the junction of Oxford St., and Tottenham Court Road. 

Busses and cabs for all parts of the city start from here. 
Several policemen are always on duty at this point to 
keep the way from being blockaded by every sort of ve- 
hicle. Every few days some one is run over, and occa- 
sionally several accidents occur at this corner in one 
day. The number of persons each year killed in the over 
crowded streets of London by passing vehicles is enor- 
mous. 

A visitor's greatest danger while in this city is from the 
innumerable cabs which are always whirling by, day 
and night, and there seems to be no limit by law, as to 
the speed in which the driver should proceed. 

There are more than 15,000 cabs in this city, besides 
thousands of every other kind of vehicle imaginable, 
and they rattle along the streets as if it were a matter of 
life or death involved in their haste. One day while 



K AMBLR? IN EUROPK. 1C>\) 

Standing on the corner of Oxford and Tottenham Sts., 
a puff of wind blew niy hat off, and before it had 
finished rolling, half a dozen cabs had gently pressed 
it with their wheels. 

Woe be to any man's hat that leaves its ow^ner's head 
at this crossing. 

A hat store is fortunately located at this spot, and the 
proprietor is one of the wealthy men of the city, Inhere 
are five hundred places of entertainment — such as thea- 
tres, music-halls, &:c., in which an average of 400,000 
persons are amused every lawfiil night. 

The Police force numbers 15,000 men and yet are 
scarcely adequate to the requirements of the metropolis. 

In a word, London is not only the most vast, the most 
wealthy, the most densely populated, and the most polit- 
ically important city of the world, but also the most 
charitable and benevolent, judging from the large num- 
ber of humane and religious institutions to be foimd in 
all parts of this capital. 

The Natural History Museum — a branch of the British 
Museum — is filled with thousands of specimens of the 
taxidermist's art. A person here can find every animal 
stuffed, from an insect to an elephant. Some of the a[)es 
and baboons are simply hideous. While a party of la- 
dies and gentlemen were looking at an orang-outang, one 



110 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

of the men observed "I have seen persons not near so 
good looking as many of these specimens'' — at which 
one of the ladies put on her spectacles, and viewed the 
speaker with considerable interest. I must not tell who 
that speaker was. 

In another room we saw an alligator, said to be the 
largest on the globe, and what an open countenance ! 
Such a mild, benevolent expression! An observer down 
South, says an alligator's throat is an animated sewer. 
Everything which lodges in his open mouth goes down. 
He is a lazy dog, and instead of hunting for some- 
thing to eat, he lets his victuals hunt for him. That is, 
he lies with his great mouth open, apparently dead, like 
the 'possum. Soon a bug crawls into it then a fly, then 
several gnats and a colony of mosquitoes. The alligator 
dosen't close his mouth yet; he is waiting for a whole 
drove of things; he does his eating by wholesale, 
a little later a lizzard will cool himself under the shade 
of the upper jaw ; then a few frogs will hop up to catch 
the mosquitoes ; then more mosquitoes and gnats will 
light on the frogs. Finally a whole village of insects and 
reptiles settle down for an afternoon pic-nic ; then all 
at once there is an earthquake ; the big jaw falls, the 
alligator blinks one eye, gulps down the entire menage- 
rie and opens his great front door again for more visitors. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. Ill 

Next to old Rome, London boasts a greater antiquity 
than any of the existing Capitals of the world. The 
mere name of London awakens a thousand trains of va- 
ried reflection. It is the focus of modern civilization — 
the great capital of the world. To the west, it is a city 
of palaces, adorned with parks, and ennobled with tri- 
umphal arches, grand statues, and stately monunnents ; 
to the east it presents a labyrinth of narrow lanes, dingy 
counting houses, and huge masses of ware-houses, with 
doors and cranes ranged one above another, in tower- 
ing succession. It is a vast bricken multitude — a strange 
incongruous chaos of wealth and v>'ant, ambition and 
despair — of the brightest charity and darkest crime — 
where there are more houses and more houseless, more 
feasting and famishing, than upon any other spot upon 
earth. Pampered luxury riots in prodigal excesses, and 
squalid poverty pines in pitiless penury and wretched- 
ness. The opulent state of a coroneted aristocracy, and 
the despised and depraved children of poverty and 
crime are to be seen in glaring and painful contrast. — 
It is the grand theatre of life, in which all imaginable 
characters severally enact their parts. 

The merchant, eager in his pursuit of gain,- the hire- 
ling, bending under the pressure of his toil, the devo- 
tees of science and literature, busily intent upon ex- 



112 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

ploring the mysteries of nature and art ; while the proud 
patrician, and the votaries of pleasure, with butterfly 
wing, flutter and dazzle amid their splendor and luxury. 

Those who have only seen London in the day-time, 
with its flood of life, rushing through its arteries to its 
restless heart, know it not in its grandest aspect. 

It is not in the noise and roar of the cataract of com- 
merce pouring through its streets, nor in its forest of 
shipSj nor in its vast docks and ware-houses, that its 
true solemnity is to be seen. 

To behold it in its greatest sublimity, it must be con- 
templated by night, afar off from an eminence. One of 
the noblest prospects in the world, is London viewed 
from the suburbs on a clear evening. 

The stars are shining in the heavens; but there is 
another firmament spread below, with its millions of 
bright lights glittering at our feet. Line after line spark- 
les, like the trails left by meteors, cuttmg and crossing 
one another, till they are lost in the haze of the dis- 
tance. Over the whole there hangs a lurid cloud, 
bright as if the monster city were in flames, and looking 
afar off like the sea by night, made phosphorescent by 
the million creatures dwelling within it. 

At night it is that the strange anomalies of London are 
best seen. Then, as the hum of life ceases, and shops 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. Ho 

darken, and the gaudy gin-palaces tlirust forth their rag- 
ged, squalid crowds to pace the streets, London puts on 
its most solemn look of all. On the benches of the parks, 
in the niches of the bridges, and in the litter of the mar- 
kets, are huddled together the homeless and the desti- 
tute. The only living things that haunt the streets, are 
tlie poor unfortunate beings, who stand shivering in their 
linery, waiting to catch the drunkard as he goes shout- 
ing homewards. Here on a door-step crouches some 
shoeless child, whose day's begging has not brought it 
enough to purchase even the two-penny bed that its 
young companions in beggary have gone to. There, 
where the stones are taken up and piled high in the road, 
and the gas streams from a tall pipe in the center of the 
street m a flag of flame — there round the red glowing 
coke fire, are grouped a rugged crowd, smoking or doz- 
ing through the night, beside it. Then, as the streets 
grow blue with the coming light, and the church spires 
and chimney tops stand out against the sky with a sharp- 
ness of outline that is seen only in Tondon before its mil- 
lion fires cover the town with their pall of smoke — then 
come sauntering forth the unwashed poor, some with 
greasy wallets on their backs, to hunt over each dirt 
heap, and eke out life by seeking refuse bones or stray 
rags and pieces of old iron: others on their way to their 



114 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

work gathered at the corner of the street round the break- 
fast-stall, and blowing saucers of steaming coffee drawn 
from tall tin cans, with the fire shining crimson through 
the holes beneath; whilst already the little slattern girl, 
with her basket slung before her, screams '* water-cress- 
es" through the sleeping streets. 

The magnitude of its wretchedness baffles us. Individ- 
ual cases of extreme suffering move our sympathies, but 
as their number is increased, the distinctness of misery 
diminishes in its influence. Yet who, to see the squalor 
and misery of London by night, would believe that 
thirty of the London bankers have cleared as much as 
one thousand mdlion pounds sterlings in o?teyear, the av- 
erage being more than three millions of money daily- — 
or that the loans of merely one house in the city through- 
out the year exceed thirty millions ! Such vast opu- 
lence and pinching poverty can be found nowhere else. 

One of the main causes of this poverty is the preva- 
lent appetite for drink among the English women. 

It is a vice no effort has been made to conceal, and as 
flagrantly open with the one sex as it is with the other. 
Not only the lower classes, by any means, but often 
well dressed, lady-like, and politely-bred women take 
their brandy and soda with a matter-of-course air and as 
suavely as clubmen. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 115 

Seeing these women emerging in such numbers from 
these houses at ahnost all hours of the day and night is 
a feature of London life peculiarly repulsive to Ameri- 
cans. Go where you will in any part of England, and 
you will find the public tap-rooms equally as well pa- 
tronized by women and girls as by any other class. — 
In America it is a rare thing to find a female in a pub- 
lic bar-room but all through Great Britain it is of com- 
mon occurrence — an every day affair. 

But all things must have an end, and so it was with my 
pleasant London sojourn. On the tenth of September, 
by the Midland railway I left vast old smoky London 
far behind as the train dashed along toward Scotland's 
fair capital — Edinburgh. 

As the express glided by the ancient city of St. Albans 
we could see the ruins ot Sopwell Nunnery, founded in 
the year of 1 140. At Leicester (loo miles from Lon- 
don,) can be seen the Church of St. Mary de Castro, 
which contains memorials of Wycliffe, Chaucer, and 
John of Gaunt. The ruins of Leicester Abbey are 
worthy of note, for here is where Cardinal Wolsey 
died just after repeating the words ^'Farewell, a long 
farewell, to all my greatness." 

Our trnin stops a few minutes at Sheffield, (165 miles 
from h.) famous from very early times for its make of 



116 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

cutlery. The old Parish Church of St. Peter, with its 
beautiful tower and spire, which dates from the begin- 
ning of the twelfth century, is one of the attractions ot 
this city. 

Normantown is a very important junction — no fewer 
than 350 trains arriving and departing during the 24 
hours. At this station the Pullman day express train, 
each way between England and Scotland, stops to per- 
mit passengers to dine. 

Half an hour, is allowed for this purpose, and the tour- 
ist need not fear the infliction of a hastily swallowed 
meal. From the platform he enters a spacious and 
handsome saloon, and finds awaiting him a dinner of 
five courses, artistically served, such as the most epicu- 
rean taste must relish. 

The half-hour and half crown meal form a pleasing 
feature of the trip that day. On we move again and 
our next stop is at Woodlesford, a nice village, pleasant- 
ly situated on the Aire. Lord Darnley — the husband 
of Mary Queen of Scots — was born at Temple Hall, in 
the vicinity. It was here that John of Gaunt is said 
to have killed the last wolf in England. But I will not 
vouch for that. 

We soon reach Leeds, the principal seat of the woolen 
trade of England, and the greatest cloth market in the 



RAMBLES IN EURUri:. 117 

world. There are many fine buildings in this city and 
special mention should be made of Town Hall, a mag- 
nificent range of Buildings which cost nearly p/^200,000. 

\Ve next pass Giant Hill, where are to be seen the 
ruins of an old Danish fort. 

As the train flies past Kirkstall, the tourist catches a 
glimpse of Kirkstall Abbey one of the noblest and most 
venerable ruins in England, said to have been founded 
in the year 1157. As the "iron horse" speeds along 
nearly fifty miles per hour, the attention of the tourist 
cannot fail to be attracted by the constant succession 
of viaducts, bridges, tunnels, and embankments. The 
scenery on this route is of the most impressive character, 
and in some parts, for stern and majestic grandeur, is 
not surpassed by anything in the Lake Region of Scot- 
land or elsewhere, while in other districts — especially 
in the beautiful valley of the Eden — there are charm- 
ing "bits " of sylvan beauty, which are the delight of 
all visitors. The town of Settle is a picturesque old 
place, situated at the base of Castleberg — a huge mass 
of rock, which was in the olden times crowned with a 
castle. 

Horton (242 miles from L. ) the next station, is a 
quaint, old fashioned village, situated in the valley of 
the Ribble. The great hill, Pennegent, 2,275 feet high, 



1 18 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

is finely seen from here. The two grand waterfalls are 
also in full view. As we glide along it v/ould be impos- 
sible to get even a glimpse of all the numerous fine old 
castles and churches in the vicinity of the Midland rail- 
way. 

Pendragon Castle, a very ancient structure which has 
passed through many vicissitudes, and was once the homis 
of the celebrated Countess of Pembroke, can be seen 
from Kirkby station. 

Appleby, 280 miles north of London, is a picturesque 
place of great antiquity, and the county town of 
Westmoreland. At Salkeld are the remains of a Druid- 
ical temple, consisting of sixty upright stones arranged 
in a circle. They are locally known as *^Long Meg arid 
her Daughters." 

The scenery in the vicinity of Lazonby is of the 
most charming description. Vestiges of an old Roman 
road, and the remains of an ancient castle, are seen 
from this place. 

From the car window at Scotby station, can be seen 
the Saddle-back mountains of the Lake District. 

On a hill, near the station, is a Druidical circle, con- 
sisting of eighty-eight stones. Traces of an ancient en- 
campment are also seen. 

Castle Hewin, a very ancient fortress now crumbling 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 110 

away — completely in nuns — was buik in very early Sax- 
on, times. Our tireless locomotive now steams into 
Carlisle station, which looks so familiar, because of hav- 
ing remained one day in this city (six weeks previous) 
while enroll te to London. 

We have only time in Carlisle to notice the venera- 
ble Cathedral, a splendid edifice, built in the form of a 
Latin cross. 

The grave of Paley, the famous theologian is in the 
north aisle. 

The car bell rings, the train pushes out, and again 
we follow the shining rails toward the land of the poets. 
We pass the original Gretna Green, long notorious for 
the celebration of clandestine marriages by a blacksmith, 
whose shop is still pointed out. This place has ceased to 
be of note since the abolition. by Act of Parliament of 
these marriages. 

This is near the border of England and Scotland, and 
as we pass, we cast a last fond glance to the south, and 
exclaim, in the words of the distinguished British states- 
man: ''England, old England with all thyfLXults I love 
thee still!" 

We are now on Scottish soil. 

''Scotland! thy wild heaths, 

Famed tor martial deed and. sacred song, 

To thee I turn." 



120 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

As evening approaches, a Scottish mist thickens and 
settles upon the earth, and many a picturesque glen is 
passed unseen. 

We lay back in our comfortable seat, listening to the • 
musical hum of the car wheels, as the train dashes on 
like a thing of life. Anon we fall into a doze, only to 
be awakened by thestop)ping of the train, and the arri- 
val and departure of passengers. 

At Melrose, the thoughts of the old x\bbey revived 
me for a few moments, but the train soon dashed on, 
and again I was lulled in to a delicious lethargy. 

It was not long now before the whistle of the locomo- 
tive acquainted us with the fact of our nearing the his- 
toric city of Edinburgh. At Edinburgh, a porter of 
the Ship Hotel meets us at the station, and we are soon 
ensconced in comfortable quarters for the night. 

After all, there is nothing more acceptable to the tired 
traveller than a good night's rest. 

Most heartily do I endorse Sancho Panza's words : 
^'Blessed be the man who first invented sleep." 

One good thing I can say of Europe — or at least of that 
portion I was in — there are no bed-bugs, and but very 
few flies, and I attribute this more to the climate than 
to the care of the people. 

My good night's rest and appetizing breakfast put 
me in fine trim for a day of sight-seeing. 



v^r 



RAMBLES IN F.UROPF, l2j 

A friend and nnself drove out to Ruslin Clinpel, 
a marvel of beauty, both within and without, \\hi( h 
shows an antiquit}^ dating back to 1446, 

Some of the clustered and spiral columns in tlie inter- 
ior are held to be matchless, especially "I'he 'Prentice 
Pillar" of which the guide will very readily tell 
a tough legend. 

The legendary story of the, 'Prentice Pillar is one 
which is not peculiar to Roslin Chapel. It is thus : 

The architect went to Rome to obtain the means of 
producing one column of surpassing excellence, and on 
his return discovered to his chagrin, that his apprentice 
had already done the work in such a style as he could 
not hope to rival ; whereupon the old man struck the 
presumptuous youth his death blow with a hammer. 

In the Chapel, divine service is held each day. 

The ruins of Roslin Castle (which are near Roslin 
Chapel), stand by the Esk side, and are most pictures- 
que — believed to date back to the year 1 100, and cer- 
tainly the old family seat of the St. Clairs, Earls of 
Caithness and Orkney. 

Near the Castle is the *'Glen", immortalized by Sir 
Walter Scott and a pleasant pbce in which to ramble 
for a few hours. 

My stay in Edinburgh durmgthis second visit was of 



122 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

such short duration that most of the time was spent at 
the Royal Antiquarian Museum and National Art Gal- 
lery. 

After seeing a few other places of interest, I took the 
express for Glasgow- — 47 miles — where I arrived one 
hour later. 

It had been raining most of tlietime I was in Edin- 
burgh, and I found Glasgow abundantly supplied with 
the same sort of weather. . 

The weather in Scotland was so damp that the hands 
of my watch rusted, and some books which were left in 
my room at the hotel began to gather mildew. 

St. George's square in Glasgow, and the Princes St. 
Gardens in Edmburgh very much -resemble, and both 
are delightful places. 

No visit to Glasgow is complete unless the charming 
Loch Lomond— the queen of the Scottish Lakes — 
is seen. This beautiful sheet of water is twenty miles 
from Glasgow, and lies principally in the county of 
Dumbarton o Its area is estimated at forty-five square 
miles, which makes it the largest lake in Great Britain. 

The depth is variable, in some places sixty feet, while 
in others it exceeds three hundred feet. Loch Lomond 
is a mountain lake, and completely cradled among the 
high hills. 



TTT 



RAINinr.E^; IN EITROPE. ] 28 

The real wonder of the Loch is to be found in its 
beautiful scenery, which is that of a fail- inland sea, sur- 
rounded by a ring of richly picturesque heights. These 
heights differ widely in character. 

Towards the head of the Lake they are majestic, im- 
posing, awful ; with thunder-smitten heads, and broken 
precipitous descents ; wild, silent ravines, and tum- 
bling roaring waterfalls ; with the tumult of whirling 
winds, and the magic of wreathing mists. But towards 
the south the hills slope into gently rounded outlines, 
with pastoral lawns, all fair and smooth, and broad 
stretches of Arcadian meadow ; with pure, sweet, leafy 
vales, and patches of deep shadowy coppice. The ex- 
quisite configuration of the shores is a thing which, once 
seen, can never be forgotten. There are bold promon- 
tories, w^hich break up the waters into foaming eddies ; 
and sniooth green headlands where the blue waves rip- 
ple as on a level strand ; and delightful little coves, fit 
for the anchorage of "fairy barks". 

But what shall I say of the Isles Beautiful that stud its 
bosom ? reposing in the light of an autumn sunset, on 
the kindling, flashing mirror of the unruffled tide, 
''As quietly as spots of sky 
Among the evening clouds !" 

It would even be impossible for a poet or painter to ex- 



124 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

aggerate their loveliness. I remained on the pretty 
steamer Prince Consort, half a day admiring the beau- 
ties of this region. 

Ben ('^Mountain") Lomond is 3,193 feet above the 
level of the sea. Its base measures about five miles, 
from north to south, and three miles and a half from 
east to west. 

It ascends on the south with a long gradual rise, un- 
til it suddenly shoots upward, more abruptly and direct- 
ly into a huge, bold cone ; then on the north it sinks 
with equal suddenness for about 2,000 feet in one tre- 
mendous precipice, after which the declivity becomes 
less appalling, and the slopes slowly blend with the sur- 
rounding landscape. 

Its general outline is very imposing, arid as its west- 
ern face rises almost immediately from the water, the 
appearance which it presents to the voyager is much 
grander than would be supposed from its comparatively 
moderate elevation. The view from the summit is 
rich and varied. 

The Loch, with its numerous islands is spread out 
beneath the feet of the traveller. The populous cities 
of Edinburgh and Glasgow are seen sparkling in the 
sunbeams. 

The whole county of Lanark and the rich vale of the 



RAMBLES IN EUROPB:. ] 2o 

Clyde, witli all its towns and villaoes, the little hill of 
Tinto, and even the distan: mountains of^ Cumberland 
attract the eye towards the south. 

To the west are seen the counties ot" Renfrew and Ayr; 
the Firth of Clyde, with the islands ofArran and Bute; 
and beyond this, the distant Atlantic and the coast of 
Ireland. On the east is seen the county of Stirling, 
with the windings of the Forth, the Lothians, and tiie 
castles of Edmburgh and Stirling. On the north th.e 
prospect is sublime ; mountain piled on mountain — 
*'Crags, knolls, and mounds, confusedly hurled, 
The fragments, of an earlier world, 
And mountains, that like giants stand 
To sentinel enchanted land," 

Loch Katrine is about half the size of Loch Lo.mond, 
and the landscape is very different. It is less beautiful, 
less varied, but perhaps not less inipressive. The si- 
lence seems deeper, the solitude more complete. Hie 
wild grandeur and savage splendor of the place are not 
subdued by any softer elements. All is bare and black 
and desolate. The mountains are covered with broken 
rorks and boulders ; the ravines that clear their 
Hanks are unrelieved by the grace of foliage ; the inter- 
venmg hollows are filled with no green leaves and smiling 
m(.Mdows, but with heatherv moors; tlio banks of the 



126 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

Lake are steep, dark, abrupt, and rude, repelling the 
limpid wave instead of wooing it. 

' A small steamer conveys passengers from one end of 
the Loch to the other, and pleasure boats may also be 
hired for excursions to various points, or for the enjoy- 
ment of an hour or two of trout fishing. 

The Trosachs are well worth visiting. 

The entrance to the Trosachs is about two miles dis- 
tant_ from the Brig of Turk. To the right, rises the huge 
bulk of Ben A' an, lySoo feet above the sea, with a bald, 
rugged summit which looks as if the winds of heaven 
had used it roughly. 

On the left Ben Venue towers to a still loftier alti- 
tude (2,800 feet), and wears a still grander front. 

The Pass of the Trosachs is about one mile in lengthy 
extending between the Trosachs Hotel (a stately, turre- 
ted edifice, which is not altogether out of harmony with 
the magnificent scenery), and the extreme point of Loch 
Katrine. 

This narrow defile forms the heart of the Trosachs. 
To the west of it we pass through a narrow inlet, and 
then, a few paces further, suddenly emerge on the broad 
expanse of Loch Katrine, with its ring of heights closely 
fencing it around, as if to guard it from unhallow^ed in- 
trusion. How shall we describe the Trosachs ? What 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 127 

shall we say of tins narrow vale, wMth its barriers of rug- 
ged mountains, and piled up rocks, and hanging copses 
of rowan, birch, hawthorn, and oak, — all inextricably 
blended and mingled together with a confusion that 
seems chaotic, yet with a depth and variety of color, a 
boldness and multiplicity of form, a general air of savage 
majesty and over-powering grandeur, which impresses the 
beholder almost painfully, and awakens in him an over- 
powering sense of awe and mystery. This wonderful 
place presents its most favorable aspects on an autumn 
morning, when the blue sky is occasionally swept by 
windy shadows, producing fantastic effects of light and 
shade : or in the glow of a clear sunset ; or, finally, in 
the pale haunting lustre of a serene and full orbed moon. 
"So wondrous wild, the whole might seem 
The scenery of a fairy dream." 

In going back to Glasgov/ I stopped a while at Bal- 
loch, Alexandria, Dumbarton, and several other stations. 

Just before leaving Glasgow for America, I stepped 
into a tailor shop and inquired if my order could be 
filled by evening the following day, stating I was to 
sail for New York then, *'Yes, a dozen suits could 
be made for you by that time," was the prompt reply 
and my measure was taken then and there. 

At noon next day the suit of clothes had hc(jn finish- 



12cS RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

ed and were awaiting my return, having been made in 
less than a day, which is pretty quick work. 

Clothing and candy can be bought in Great Britain for 
one half the price paid in America. I bought the finest 
mint lozenges in London and Edinburgh at 4d. (8 cts.) 
per pound, and the same article in the U. S. would cost 
at least 25 cts. Sugars are so much cheaper, some 
grades of it selling as low as id,, — 2 cents — per pound. 

For my Glasgow suit I paid four guineas — equal to 
twenty-one dollars. 

My time in Europe was drawing to its close, and the 
At. 4,000 ton steamship State of Nebraska was to 
leave that evening (Sept. 16, 1887), and everything 
looked lively on board the vessel as the hour for depart- 
ure arrived. Trunks, boxes, valises and bundles were 
piled promiscuously on the deck ; and the officers and 
sailors were as busy as Turks, that is, when the Turks 
are as busy as those officers and sailors were. 

Such an enormous cargo was taken on, that the 
steamer was not ready to leave her dock till ten p.*m. 

Men bade their friends a long farewell, ladies 
kissed their dear ones adieu, whilst I with many regrets 
parted with my venerable friend — Rev. Walter R. Long, 
who had accompanied me all the way from London, and 
whose genial presence contributed so greatly to the 
pleasure of my tour. 



KAMIJLES IN EUROPE. l'^\} 

Our vessel steamed slmvly down the Clyde and was 
Tiot long in jxissing Paisley, a very important manufac- 
turing town, which has a worldwide celebrity for its 
shawls and thread. 

Some of us did not retire until after we liad reached 
Ayr, the birth-place of Robert Burns, 

*'Auld Ayr whom ne'er a toon surpasses 
For honest men and bonnie lasses." 

\Vhen I arose in the n:iorning the steamer was lying at 
anchor in the port of Larne, Ireland. Here the Neb- 
raska was to remain all day taking on cargo and many 
passengers, mostly steeragers. 

Taking advantage of the stop here, some of the pas- 
sengers proposed visiting Belfast (25 miles distant), 
which was no sooner suggested, than agreed upon. 
The train left Larne at 9 a. m , and an hour later we 
were in the commercial city of Belfast, which has prob- 
ablv the most extensive linen manufactories in the 
world. 

Belfast is situated at the head of Belfast Lough, and 
contains about 225,000 inhabitants. The Cathedral and 
Post Office are fine buildings. We would have remain- 
ed in the city till evening had not some of our party 
expressed a desire to visit the Giant's Causeway while 
the opportunity afforded. There are two ways of reach- 



130 ^ RAMBLES IN EUROPE. / 

ing the Causeway from Belfast, and we had the choice 
of steamboat or rail. But being in more than an ordi- 
nary hurry, took the shortest and quickest route, which 
is by rail. The distance is about sixty miles and we 
travelled through some picturesque country, but the 
towns and villages passed., seemed to be poverty stricken 
and when any of us got out of the train for a moment 
at any station, there was always a beggar or two at hand. 

We reached Portrush early in the afternoon, and 
from there it is only a six mile ride to the Causeway „ 

The Giant's Causeway is one of the most stupendous, 
and wonderful objects in Nature, and located at the 
northern extremity of the county Antrim. 

It is formed of more than one thousand feet of upright 
basaltic columns, enormous in size, and so fitted to each 
other as no other power but that of the Infinite could 
have done. 

When we had walked over them, boated round them, 
and entered the caves, we felt as if we were repaid a 
hundred fold for our efforts in getting there. 

Two hours ride by rail and we were back to Larne 
again, and just in time for supper. A few saloon pas- 
sengers were added to our list, and there were not less 
than four kundred steerage passengers taken on here, 
and vast quantities of freight. 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE, 131 

One of the steeragers appeared to be the worse lor. 
Irish whisky, and stumbled against every person in his 
way. About ten o'cloek that night there was a splash 
heard, and such a stentorian howl as seldom falls from 
mortal lips. 

One of the officers threw out a life-preserver, a boat 
was immediately lowered, and the man who fell over- 
board was taken up in a very damp condition. 

It proved to be that bibulous steerager, and he gave 
no further trouble after that. 

At midnight the steamship Nebraska loosed her moor- 
ings and set sail for her trip across the Atlantic. When 
the passengers awoke in the morning there was nothing 
else to be seen, save the placid bosom of the great deep. 
It seems to uplift the spiritual nature of man to behold 
the wide expanse of waters, and conten::piate the con- 
summate wisdom and power of Him, whom even the 
winds and the sea obey. It is here that a man feels his 
insignificance and utter dependence, and that he must 
rely upon a Hand that is wiser and stronger than that 
of any officer of the ship. 

There were two hundred and four saloon passengers, 
and six hundred and ten steeragers on board. Besides 
these, there were live ''stowaways" who \fere set to 
work scrubbing the decks, helping the (ook. or what^ 



ll>2 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

ever else they could do to earn their passage across. 

Almost every steamship from Europe has a few stowa- 
ways aboard. 

There was one poor fellow on board who was neither 
a stowaway nor a passenger ; who claimed that he got 
on at Larne only for the purpose of bidding some friends 
good bye, and the steamship left and was at sea before 
he knew it had started. 

He was put down in the hold among the steeragers, 
and the captain remarked ; it would have been more 
appropriate had he bid those at home good bye, instead 
of his friends on the ship. 

Most of the cabin passengers were Americans who had 
left New York in the spring or summer, and were now 
returning home with a slim pocket-book. 

Each spring there are tens of thousands of persons 
who leave the United States trying to find pleasure in 
Europe ; where they are picked and fleeced in the most 
approved style in each city they visit, and after several 
months of this delightful experience, these tourists are 
glad to shake the European dust from their feet, and 
hasten back to their happy homes, which they now ap- 
preciate still more than ever. 

If a man would doubly appreciate the *4and of the 
free and the home of the brave/* let him see the degra- 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 133 

dation and poverty and oppression which afflicts the 
lower classes in over crowded Europe. He will then 
wax patriotic and exclaim — **Surely the United States is 
the grandest country under the sun, and I knew it not." 
It appears that the peasants of Europe have already 
found out that America is the best country under the 
sun, else they would not come over by the hundreds of 
thousands every year. 

The visitor to Europe usually follows the beaten path 
of travel, and sees life there in its brightest phases; 
charmed by the bright show and glamour of royalty, 
but back of all this he can — if he takes the trouble — find 
an over-taxed, impoverished, long suffering people who 
must pay out of their destitution, every farthing \^hich 
these scions of nobility choose to waste upon themselves 
and their favorites. 

It is a good thing for America that several thousand 
miles of water lay between her and Europe. The 
United States Government never will require a large 
standing army m times of peace, because there are no 
dangerous neighbors on this side of the water to watch. 

But those little European nations are packed too close 
together for their mutual comfort, and watch each other 
night and day with a jealous eye, and each seems to vie 
with the other as to who shall have the largest army and 



1 34 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

the highest tax-rate. And the larger the army, the less 
liberty for the people. The United States is favored 
above all nations. 

The steamship Nebraska had now been out several 
days and nothing occured to mar the pleasure of the 
voyage. An ocean steamship is built these times to 
rock as little as possible, and when it draws twenty-eight 
feet of water, as the Nebraska did, that only makes it 
yet the more steady. 

Part of the time our noble steamer made sixteen miles 
per hour, and at this rate would soon span the watery 
waste. The weather could not have been more propi- 
tious, and the roseate tints of dawn, the golden glow of 
the evening, the silvery beams of the moon, and the ra- 
diance of the star lit night suggested many pleasant 
things to us as the powerful screw-propeller kept on her 
way like a thing of life and beauty across the fathom- 
less abyss. 

One little passenger was added to our list while on 
the ocean, and a collection was lifted for the mother 
(a steerager) who was in very needy circumstances, 
and about $25,00 realized. One stingy creature when 
asked to contribute, said, **It's not my baby** and would 
give not so much as a nickel. It was proposed to raise 
a collection for this liberal man, which would have been 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 135 

done, had wc not thought he would have been only too 
glad to receive it, and so the matter was dropped, and 
we cast no pearls before swine. 

Quite a stirring incident occurred in the saloon one 
evening which might have resulted in bloodshed. It 
was during a concert, and after all those whose names 
were on the program had rendered their pieces, that 
the chairman called for volunteers to take part in the 
entertainment. One young man, who had been drink- 
ing freely during the entire voyage, rose from his seat 
and attempted to sing a song, but was so drunk that 
the chairman ordered him to be seated ; whereupon he 
(the intoxicated passenger) quickly drew a revolver 
from his pocket, exclaiming, **Do you mean to insult 
me like a dog" and would have fired at the presiding 
officer, had not some one immediately snatched the 
weapon from his hand. This caused the greatest excite- 
ment, most of the ladies left the saloon, the purser and 
stewards led the drunken man to his state-room where 
he was searched, and all his baggage, to see if any dan- 
gerous weapons could be found. The chairman said 
he would prosecute the young man when he arrived at 
New York. This was the most lively — came near being 
the most deadly — incident that occurred on our trip. 

We had now been nearly a week on the ocean and 



136 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

the weather so far had been perfect. It seemed as if 
we would reach New York without one day of rough 
weather. But appearances are often deceitful, and 
such calm beautiful days at equinoctial times, in many 
instances are only ** weather breeders/* Off the coast 
of Newfoundland there is always more or less fog. It 
was here that the Nevada, in going across, had her 
roughest experience, and the passengers were mostly 
sea-sick. So, in coming back on the Nebraska, our 
worst weather was while in the neighborhood of the 
great **Banks'' where the Gulf Stream, commg from the 
tropics, meets the polar current., and the two vast bodies 
of water having a different temperature, causes almost 
perpetual fogs, rain and unpleasant weather. There 
were ice-bergs in ihe vicinity too, for the weather was 
unusually cold, and with the heaviest clothing we could 
hardly keep from shivering while on deck. Up to this 
time there had been but little sea-sickness, but now that 
the old ship was tossing and pitching in the trough of 
the sea, and most of the passengers down in the saloon 
where the air was none too pure, it had a tendency to 
make them feel anything else than well. 

If a person can get plenty of fresh air, such an one 
is all right, but when forced to remain below and breathe 
the atmosphere from which your friend's lungs have ex- 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 137 

tracted the oxygen, and at the same time find yourself 
rocked up and down, side-vvise, cross-wise and several 
other directions at once (if possible); and if all this shak- 
ing does not make the sufferer succumb to a feeling of 
nausea then it is because he has no such thing as a liver 
in his make up. The wild waves were dashing over the 
deck every few minutes, and the ship was laboring 
heavy, while everything was dark, cold, dismal, and 
dangerous. A young lady inquired of the doctor if 
there was any remedy for sea-sickness. *^0, yes" replied 
the doctor, "a very simply remedy," but the patient's 
countenance fell when the *'stay at home" remedy was 
announced. Hold your breath and contract your abdom- 
inal muscles is the remedy for sea-sickness, suggested 
by experience. One passenger who was half sick and 
half well, said'he would soon be one thing or the other^ 
and drank nearly a pint of sea water, which had the 
effect of making his mouth resemble the crater of a 
volcano for about five minutes, after which he felt like 
a new man altogether. I heard another man say he 
would cross the Atlantic next time in a balloon, but his 
friend advised him not to do that — it might be danger- 
ous — better wait till the ocean is tunnelled, and then he 
could go through on a Pullman sleeper. 

About this time it must have been awful down in the 



138 RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 

Steerage, almost enough to make one sea sick to think 
of it. 

The weather was not quite rough enough to be call- 
ed a gale, yet one of the passengers asked the purser if 
he ever saw a worse storm. 

This same passenger also inquired the depth of the 
ocean, — *'0, not very deep'* said the purser, "only about 
twenty-thousand feet" and at this the poor fellow gave 
a shudder and started for his berth. 

This boisterous weather continued for about thirty-six 
hours, and then abated somewhat. After the waves 
subsided enough to keep from dashing over the decks, 
it was a grand sight to sit by the hour, and look at the 
angry, foaming billows as they beat against each other 
and formed a thousand beautiful water-falls. The faith- 
ful steamer had at last gotten through that awful pall- — 
the fog — and everything began to look bright and sun- 
shiny as of yore. 

A person never tires of looking at the ocean, there is 
something fascinating, not to say exhilarating, on the 
boundless expanse of waters, and it may well be com- 
pared to a kaleidoscope, in which new beauties are be- 
held each time the individual lifts his eye towards it. 

Our steamer took the pilot aboard four hundred miles 
out from Sandy-Hook. It is astonishing how far out 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 189 

these little pilot boats do go, and now and then they 
get caught in some fearful weather, and go back to 
New York looking the worse for wear. 

As we approached Sandy-Hook, vessels of every de- 
scription could be seen in all directions, and we felt as if 
our little ocean trip would soon be a thing of the past. 

The passengers were busy packing their valises, writ- 
ing letters to absent friends, and attending to many lit- 
tle things which make the time pass so rapidly as the 
steamship nears her port. 

When within a few miles of New York, we passed the 
American yacht '^Volunteer,'* which gained such fame 
lately in successfully defending the gold cup ; by defeat- 
ing the British yacht * 'Thistle,** in the race for the 
championship of the world. 

Arrived at New York after a nine day's sail from Glas- 
gow. Our luggage was inspected by custom house 
officers, and so long did this take, that many of us were 
detained for hours. 

My watch was only five hours and ^s^ minutes fast, 
that being the difference between Greenwich and Wash- 
ington time. 

After remaining about a week in New York — seeing 
the wonders of that busy metropolis — I took the express 
for Washington, reaching that city six hours later, 



140 



RAMBLES IN EUROPE. 



having averaged nearly forty miles per hour. It is only a 
few minutes ride from Washington to Alexandria, and 
thus I was home again after an absence of nearly three 
months, an expenditure of four hundred dollars, and a 
tour of eight thousand five hundred miles. 



APPENDIX. 



A TRIP TO THE Caverns of Luray and the Nat- 
ural Bridge of Virginia. 



APPENDIX. 

Appendix. — Remarks — Enroute for Luray — Harper's Ferry — Beau- 
tiful scenery — Historic region — Luray Inn — Famous Mineral 
Springs — Luray Cavern — Its wonderful formations described — 
Illuminated by electric light — From Luray to the Natural 
Bridge — Weyer's Cave — Description of the Natural Bridge 
— Pyrotechnic displays — Places of interest near the Bridge- 
Home again. 

A few days after my return from Europe, I concluded 
that it would be a pleasant tour to visit the charming 
and picturesque Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. 

This fertile Valley lies between the Allegheny and the 
Blue Ridge mountains and is the best portion of the 
state* 

Especially during the summer season, and as late as 
the golden month of October, tourists from all parts of 
the United States visit the noted mineral springs of that 
region which are not surpassed in any country for me* 
dicinal virtues. 

But the greatest of all attractions are the far famed 
Luray Caverns, which are more completely and profusely 



144 APPENDIX. 

decorated with stalactiticand stalagmitic ornamentatioti 
than any other cave in the state, and whose equal 
can probably be found in no country of Europe, or 
elsewhere for magnificence. 

I was soon enroute for the Cave, and at the same 
time taking in the pretty scenery along the way. 

The run to Harper's Ferry, fifty-five miles from 
Washington, was made in one and a half hours, and the 
express only stopped at Rockville, Point of Rocks, and 
Frederick Junction. 

Harper's Ferry is one of the romantic spots of the 
U. S. The scenery on every side is inspiring, and the 
majestic Shenandoah empties into the Potomac at this 
point, where their united waters have burst the barriers 
of the Blue Ridge to find their way to the sea — forming 
one of the grandest objects m nature to be found on the 
continent. 

Here are to be seen the old Armory, and also 
**John Brown's Fort" which once figured so prominent- 
ly in the affairs of the nation. 

The pretty steel bridge which spans the Potomac here 
looks so light and airy in contrast with the huge moun- 
tains on either side, yet this beautiful bridge is one 
of the staunchest and most durable pieces of engineer- 
ing skill on the B. & O. R. R. 



APPENDIX. 145 

There are two opposing lines of railway traversing 
the Shenandoah Valley. The Baltimore and Ohio R. 
R. has a line extending from Harper's Ferry up the Val- 
ley, past the cities of Winchester and Staunton, and 
terminating for the present at Lexington, a distance of 
i6i miles, and through a very fertile region. The 
other railway is the picturesque Shenandoah Valley R. 
R., and on this route is situated the Caverns of Luray. 

From Harper's Ferry to Shenandoah Junction is only 
six miles ; and here we change cars for Luray, a distance 
of sixty-six miles from the Junction, and a prettier coun- 
try the sun never shone upon. 

* Especially is this latter clause true of Page county, 
of which Luray is the county seat. For the lover of 
the beautiful in nature it is endowed with innumera- 
ble charms. 

Hemmed in on every side with a rim of blue moun- 
tains, it is traversed in its western part by the South 
Branch of the Shenandoah, a beautiful river known in 
many a story of battle and guerilla adventure during 
the civil war. It was upon its banks at Front Royal, 
near its junction with the North Branch, that the first 

■^Through the kindness of the Luray Cave and Hotel Company, the 
writer has been permitted to select many choice extracts from their 
Guide Book, in describing the Caverns of Luray and vicinity. 



146 APPENDIX. 

battle of Jackson's celebrated Valley campaign was 
fought. The Hawksbill, a winding and picturesque 
stream, flows through the centre of the valley, alterna- 
ting along its upper course with wild mountain cascades 
and bits of bosky dell, until at length, after watering 
miles of fertile meadow, it passes beneath the rustic 
bridge at Luray and loses itself in the Shenandoah. 

Nor is the village of Luray unknown to fame. It 
was through its streets that Stonewall Jackson pass- 
ed in making his movement upon Banks at Strasburg 
in the spring of 1862. 

By this way, too, marched General Shields a little 
later, to intercept the wily Confederate in his retreat 
before Fremont. After the affair at Port Republic, 
Luray lay in the line of the Federal general's retreat. 
Again in July, 1863, Lee's army returning from Gettys- 
burg to Eastern Virginia, and finding the lower passes 
of the Blue Ridge held by Meade's troops, came this 
far up the valley to gain Thornton's Gap, and crossing 
here, once more confronted its old adversary. 

Then, as now, the village was famous for its pretty 
girls and abundant rations, to both of which soldiers 
are ever devoted, and it became in consequence the 
scene of many exploits of the partisan soldiery of Harry 
Gillmore, McNeil, and Mosby — gay fellows who know- 



APPENDIX. 147 

ing well the charms of the place were loth to yield pos- 
session. 

During my stay in Luray, I quartered at the L\iray 
Inn, a fine hotel, built in Queen Anne style, and one 
of the best summer resorts in the state. 

The Inn has fifty-four sleeping rooms, all provided 
with gas and electric bells. 

There is a tower crowning the Inn from which may 
be obtained a fine view of the ^[lorious scenery of the 
Hawksbill valley ; and to watch the setting sun behind 
the Massanutton; to see the thousand purplish tints that 
sleep within its winding valleys and glens, while the hea- 
vens above are glowing with splendors of pink, and red, 
faintish blue and green, amber and gold, these are no 
small pleasures; they awaken a thousand echoes to all that 
is pure, and beautiful and good, and we find in them the 
pabulum of our highest emotions, inspiration for better 
living, and nobler thinking, and increased mental and 
moral strength to renew and accomplish the tasks of life. 

Luray is a good central point from which the histori- 
ographer may visit the numerous battle fields of the 
Valley and Piedmont section of Virginia. 

Within a few miles are Kernstown, Front Royal, Win- 
chester, Strasburg, New Market, Cedar Creek, Cross 
Keys and Port Republic. Charlestown the scene of 



l48 APPENDIX. 

John Brown^s trial and execution, is within easy reach. 

There are several interesting mounds, built perhaps 
by the famous mound-builders, within two or three miles 
of Luray. 

For several years representatives of the Smithsonian 
Institution have been engaged in examming them. 

Luray is within easy reach of Raleigh, Capon and 
Jordan White Sulphur Springs, and is on the direct line 
from northern cities to the famous Greenbrier White 
Sulphur, Old Sweet, Red Sweet, Warm Springs, and 
other prominent Virginia watering places, and the 
wonderful Natural Bridge of Virginia. 

Luray Cavern is one mile west of Luray on the New 
Market pike, and the entrance is on the side of a coni- 
cal hill known as Cave Hill. 

A house has been built over this entrance for conven- 
ience, and the visitor descends a stairway within the 
house, precisely as if he were going down into a cellar. 

Within the cave are plank and cement walks, bridges, 
stairways, railings, etc., in all those parts at present 
open to the general visitor, so that no special prepara- 
tion as to dress is needed, and the temperature of the 
cave atmosphere registers 56^ uniformly. 

The thirteen electric lights suspended at important 
points relieve the visitor of the trouble of being his own 



APPENDIX. 149 

torch bearer. Still, if desired, the guides provide 
each person with a reflector armed with several can- 
dles. 

Our first emotion at the abrupt change from outside 
nature, is one of mute wonder, until the mind accus- 
toms itself to the monstrous shapes, the silence, and the 
weird influence of this subterranean world. 

Our feeling is that we have entered a new state of be- 
ing. Queer shapes present themselves at every turn, 
aping grotesquely the things of our past experience. 

Every object suggests some growth of animal or vege- 
table life, yet every resemblance proves illusive. Be- 
fore us are glittering stalactites and fluted columns 
strong enough to bear a world ; draperies in broad folds 
and a thousand tints ; cascades of snow white stone ; and 
beyond, a background of pitchy darkness in which the 
imagination locates more than the eye can see. 

Fancy is dazed by the incomprehensible stimulus it 
receives from a multitude of novel forms ; around us 
is a silence that speaks, and we imagine we see the me- 
chanic spirits of this under world, gnomes and imps, who 
dart from shadow to shadow, behind column and angle, 
to watch that we do no harm to their marvelous handi- 
work. 

Awe and reverence possess us while we examine these 



150 APPENDIX. 

weird objects under the glow of the overhanging elec- 
tric light. 

First to attract attention is Washington's Column, a 
fluted, massive stalagmite about twenty feet in diameter 
by thirty in height, reaching from, floor to ceiling. 

Stalactites depend on every side ; from the centre of 
the roof one descends as aptly as if nature had design- 
ed it to support a chandelier. 

Three avenues radiate near here, and we soon reacli 
the Flower Garden, a space enclosed with a natural stal- 
agmitic border, and containing bulb-shaped stalagmites 
resembling vegetable forms, bunches of asparagus, cau- 
liflower, cabbages, etc. — according to one's fancy. 

From this point looking forward toward the Fish 
Market one sees splendid effects from the electric light 
streaming through the natural arch which spans the 
Lake, and reflected, in tints of silver and gold, from the 
formations new and old disclosed by its rays. We 
pass beneath the arch spanning the site of the Lake to 
the Fish Market. 

At the end of the cement walk we see hanging upon 
our left the fish in a row, black bass and silver perch 
done up in bunches — rock-fish, according to the terms 
of our guide's ancient joke. 

The semblance is perfect. We recognize their bluish 



APPENDIX. 151 

backs, whitish bellies, and forked tails, while, to in- 
crease the illusion, the trickling water gives them the 
moist, glossy coating of a catch fresh from the sea. 

Turning to the right and mounting a flight of steps, 
we are in the Elfin Ramble, a vast open plateau, estima- 
ted to be five hundred feet in length by three hundred 
in breadth. 

After crossing Elfin Ramble, we reach Pluto's Chasm, 
the rift through which the god is supposed to have 
borne Proserpine to the under world. It yawns at our 
feet in a startling way, attaining a depth of 75 feet and 
a length of 500 feet. Facing us is a wall of glistening 
stalactites. 

At the bottom of the Chasm, some distance to our 
left is the Spectre, a tall, white, fluted stalactite bedeck- 
ed about its upper part, with a fringe of snowy dra- 
peries. 

Further on we pass Crystal Springs, and Crystal 
Lake, forty feet long and eight feet deep, where few 
can resist the temptation to drink of the pellucid nectar. 

The crystal bottoms sparkle beautifully in the light 
of our lamps. 

We now enter Skeleton Gorge where lie embedded 
in dripstone, at the foot of an ugly precipice, the bones 
of a man. Only a few of the larger bones of the leg, 



152 APPENDIX. 

p^rt of the skull, and a few vertebras, remain in sight; 
and these are held firmly in the grip of the stone which 
has formed over the rest. 

There has been much dispute between the romantic and 
the practical over the sex of the unfortunate deceased, 
the former averring that it was an Indian maiden who, 
crossed in love, came here to find congenial gloom in 
which to indulge her reveries. Her neglected torch 
burning out, she got lost in the darkness and intricacies 
of the cave, and wandering about stumbled over the edge 
of the precipice and perished. 

The place is cold, wet, dark, and dismal, and emi- 
nently suited for the close of a tragedy. 

After going through Giant's Hall, and seeing the Sar- 
acen's Tent, we arrive at the Organ Room. 

Here we find ourselves face to face with a perpendic- 
ular barrier of massive stalactites. 

One, the organ, a mass of dripstone with long sonor- 
ous stalagmites, upon which a tune may be played, ex- 
cites the admiration and wonder of all hearers. 

We emerge at length into a large open space nearly 
circular and magnificently furnished with all that is 
striking and attractive in cave scenery. 

Its size and shape justify the name— Ball Room — 
which has been given to it. It is floored with cement 



.\1'im:\1)IX. 1").'] 

and provided with benches. A bank of stone on one 
side supplies a suj)port for successive ranges of seats. 

Formerly on ''Illumination Days," when some five 
thousand candles were lighted throughout the cave, the 
lads and lasses of the adjacent counties celebrated the 
event by assembling here for a dance. 

The Luray Band with their instruments provided the 
necessary music. As may be imagined, the effect was 
both striking and queer. The brilliant lights set off the 
Ball Room to its best advantage, and the music rever- 
berated loudly back and forth through Giant's Hall. 

This apartment, the lowest in the cave, is two hun- 
dred and sixty feet beneath the surface. 

Among other objects of interest in the cave are the 
Angel's Wing, the Throne,. Fallen Column, Frozen Cas- 
cade, Chalcedony Cascade, Tombs of the Martyrs, the 
Vault, Lady's Riding Whip, the Idol, the Conical Shot, 
the Handkerchief, Cinderella, Comet Column, Camel's 
Head, and the wet blanket — the latter a marvelous piece 
of imitative stone. 

Here, too, is the l^ridal Chamber, which has been 
consecrated by an actual marriage. 

1\) visit all the rooms now o|)en in the cave recjuires 
a journey of over three miles. 

One who wishes to surrender himself to the emotion 



154 APPENDIX. 

inspired by the place, will allow the rest of the company 
to precede him, while he remains to keep solitary 
vigil. In solitude and silence, undistrarted by remin- 
ders of the outer world, the mind acquires the power 
of seeing the invisible. 

The spirits of the under world gain confidence to 
approach and whisper their incommunicable secrets, and 
what we had supposed was the monotone of falling 
drops of water becomes the intelligible voice of the 
gnome who has shaped the fantastic world around us. 
The eye gains a keener sight. The imps and goblins 
who love to lurk in shadows start forth to view in gro- 
tesque shapes. 

The electric light, flaring and sputtering, as if im- 
patient at being brought down from its skyey home to 
this subterranean w^orld, here exhibits its remarkable 
power to bring out clearly distant objects. It heightens 
the contrast of light and shade upon which cave scenery 
so much depends for its striking character. Under its 
glow the white formations shine with almost the lus- 
tre of pearl, while the amber tints of the older and 
darker ones are changed for the color of gold. 

We at length realize that the true charm of the 
place is nameless. That it lies in no one of its qual- 
ities, but in all — in its silence, its immensity, its myste- 



APPENDIX. 155 

ry, its splendor, its beauty — in the effect of an entour- 
age altogether novel. 

The Persian monarch's desire — a new pleasure is se- 
cured at length to the world in the Luray Cave. 



NATURAL BRIDGE. 

From Luray to the great Natural Bridge of Vir- 
ginia, the distance is one hundred and twelve miles. 

This stupendous work of nature I had visited the 
year previous, but never tiring of such wonders I deter- 
mined to make another pilgrimage there. 

On the route from Luray to the Natural Bridge the 
scenery is so inviting that the traveller feels like stopping 
off for a day or two at each station. 

At Weyer's Cave station, forty-one miles south of 
Luray, the tourist is within easy reach of Weyer's Cave^ 
and Madison Cave, both in the same (Augusta) county, 
and visited each year by thousands. Weyer's Cave, 
has an aggregate length of 3,000 ft., with numerous halls 
and chambers of great beauty when illuminated. 

At Waynesboro Junction, the Shenandoah Valley 
R. R. crosses the Newport News and Mississippi Valley 
R. R. 

We soon reach Natural Bridge station where a stai^e 



156 APPENDIX. 

awaits us, and conveys passengers to the Bridge two 
miles distant. 

The hotel — Forest Inn — at Natural Bridge is one of 
the best in the country, and on a par with the magnifi- 
cent Luray Inn. 

A visitor should allow himself plenty of time at the 
Bridge, for all that vicinity is of great natural beauty, 
and replete with places of interest. During my visit a 
year previous I extended my trip to the White Sulphur 
Springs, Hawks Nest, Kanawha Falls, Charleston, Hun- 
tington, and into Kentucky. 

For wild and rugged mountain views the country a- 
long the New River in West Virginia is unsurpassed. 

Another picturesque trip (which I made two years 
previous,) is from Lynchburg to the mining town of 
Pocahontas (175 miles,) and in all this country the trav- 
eller will find pure mountain air, medicinal springs, 
w^onderful caverns, beautiful forests filled with game, 
fertile soil, hospitable people, lovely girls, and every- 
thing that is calculated to make life happy. If all this 
region is not an El-dorado, then it is only one remove 
from it. 

The Natural Bridge is 215 feet high, and the span of 
its marvelous arch is nearly 100 feet in length and 42 
feet thikc. The county of Rockbridge derives its name 



APPENDIX. 157- 

-^irom this wonderful handiwork of nature located with- 
in Its borders. This immense Bridge, 80 feet in width, 
affords a public and commodious passage over a valley 
which cannot be crossed elsewhere for a considerable 
distance. 

It is on the slope of a hill, which seems to have been 
cloven through its length by some great convulsion of 
nature. The arch is of a semi-elliptical form ; and al- 
though some conjecture as to its shape may be made by 
looking down from its edge to the waters of Cedar 
Creek below, still no adequate conception can be obtain- 
ed without viewing it from underneath. 

The arch is best seen from the bed of the stream, 
and from a point just under it. On looking up there 
is seen a noble vault of one solid mass of stone hanging 
over head, somewhat curved in its highest part, and al- 
most like the work of man. 

The same native rock forms on each side the supports 
of this enormous arch ; and together they constitute a 
solid framework of stone, built up by the agencies of 
nature, which exceeds in height the Monument of Lon- 
don. Its structure is sound, its architecture is massive 
and imposing, and its material of that enduring nature 
which fits it for the convenience of many ages to come. 

Like many other great works in nature and art, it is 



158 ^ APPENDIX. 

not the first sight of this Bridge that produces the deep- 
est impression. 

On a second visit, its grandeur and massive propor- 
tion are seen more accurately ; an*d beneath it the visi- 
tor may sit and gaze for hours, with increasing aston- 
ishment at the majestic arch which nature constructed 
before man began his work, and which seems likely to 
outlive the most durable of his monuments. 

Within a few minutes walk of the Natural Bridge is 
Salt Petre Cave, and the Lost River. 

The Cascade a short distance up Cedar Creek from 
the Bridge — is quite an object of beauty. 

The Thousand Pines are visited by many. 

The Observatory commands a magnificent view, and 
on a clear day the Peaks of Otter can be seen in the 
distance. Each day in summer the band dispenses mu- 
sic in the Observatory, which is a delightful place on 
account of the cool breeze always prevailing there. 

The gorgeous pyrotechnic display every Saturday- 
night attracts vast numbers, and it is then that the no- 
ble old Bridge is seen in all its glory. 

From the Natural Bridge to Lexington, the county- 
seat of Rockbridge, the distance is 14 miles ; and the 
Virginia Military Institute, and Washington and Lee 
University are located there. The tombs of those 



APPENDIX. 159 

tliree distinguished and pious Virginians — Lee, Jackson, 
and Maury — are at Lexington. 

From the Natural Bridge back to Washington, 238 
miles, was a ride of about eight hours, and I remained 
in the Federal Capital long enough to visit the famous 
Panorama of the Second Battle of Manassas, a magnifi- 
cent oil painting containing twenty-thousand square 
feet of canvas. 

That evening I again found myself at home, where I 
expect to remain uutil I take my next trip. 




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